Inevitable
by Lystee
Summary: SasuNaruSasu :: It was bound to happen. Their infamous meeting after all these years. But, with Naruto's new position in Konoha and Sasuke's status as an S class missing ninja, nothing ever comes easy to these two. Not that they'd expect it any other way.
1. Prologue

**Inevitable  
**A SasuNaru Story

**Prologue**

It was over. It was done. And now Sasuke Uchiha was coming home.

He descended upon the gates leading into Konoha, into his original home, allowing a smile to play on his face. He could almost hear the subtle sound of the wind blowing the leaves down, along with the soft scattering sound they made when skipping across the pavement. It was a nice sentiment, if only it would have lasted.

Sasuke was barely two hundred feet in front of the gate when six ANBU agents landed in a circle around him. He wasn't all that stunned, having expected nothing short of _not_ a warm welcome, and stood perfectly still.

"Uchiha Sasuke." The guard with a bird mask reached his arm behind him, his hand wrapped around the grip of his katana. "You are to be held under arrest upon your return to Konoha."

Sasuke stayed silent and kept his breathing even. He expected this, this was nothing short of destiny, and, of course, Sasuke thought he would ultimately be fine.

"If you have nothing to say," the guard to his right said who had a very interesting looking mask – almost like an eagle. "Then we'll be taking you in front of the Hokage, with handcuffs of course."

Once again, Sasuke remained silent and still, even while the ANBU roughly shoved him to the ground and cuffed his hands behind his back. The handcuffs they used were flowing with chakra, making them absolutely _impossible_ to remove.

Konoha was abuzz with talk and rumors; some villagers actually were able to witness the ANBU carrying the last remaining Uchiha through the village and toward the Hokage tower. The closer they got to the tower, the more intense the stares thrown at Sasuke become, and the more the last remaining Uchiha began to think he was in more trouble then he original suspected. Sure, he didn't think he'd get a slap on the wrist and then given an ANBU Captain position, he just didn't think all of this was actually necessary.

Tsunade, on the other hand, thought they were being lax. "Only _six_ ANBU brought him in?"

As few of the six shuffled their stance, the other just stood tense and awaited the older woman's reaction. They left Sasuke in the care of Tsunade's regular ANBU guards, which were now waiting outside her office.

"Let me try this again," Tsunade began furiously rubbing her temples and closed her eyes. "Sasuke Uchiha is an _S-class missing ninja_…_trained by Orochimaru_…and you only used _six_ ANBU agents to bring him in?"

"He let us take him, he didn't even try to resist." The one with the interesting mask, which was colored almost like Kankuro's face paint, gestured with his hands, but Tsunade grimaced.

"You are all idiots!" She glared. "Bring the Uchiha in here. I need to speak with him."

When Sasuke was ushered in the door, he was greeted by the current Hokage, the two elder advisors, and three members of the Konoha Great Council, a sight which he could have done his life _without_ seeing.

"Uchiha Sasuke, take a seat." One of the elders said, gesturing toward a chair in the center of the room. Behind him, the door opened and a tall burly Jounin, Ibiki Morino, entered. Sasuke obeyed the elder and sat down, his mind whirling with thoughts. "Do you know why you're under arrest?"

Sasuke's dark eyes focused on the elder and took a long moment before speaking. "Because I left Konoha to train with Orochimaru."

The other elder scoffed, as did several council members. Tsunade drew her eyes down in a deep frown riddled with frustration and contempt. "Yeah, that and you tried to kill Uzumaki Naruto, twice."

A flicker of emotion danced over Sasuke's face, it only lasted for a second, but it was more than enough time for Tsunade to see it. She didn't take that time to comment on it, however. Instead, she skipped to the next question in her long list for the teenager.

"Why did you come back to Konoha, Uchiha?"

"I finished my revenge. Uchiha Itachi is dead." Sasuke paused for a second, a look of self-satisfaction crossing his features. "I came to Konoha to suffer the consequences of my actions, in full."

Tsunade studied him for a second, her eyes still furrowed together. "You killed your brother and now you want to come home? Do you think that's possible?"

"After my repentance, I see no reason why I can't." Sasuke said, his voice completely honest. "I've never hurt anyone in Konoha. And besides Orochimaru and Itachi, I've never killed anyone."

The council members nearly spit they were so furious, only one could find his voice. "Uchiha, you are a traitor to the village! What makes you think you would be welcomed back here at all? Not to mention that forsaken _curse seal_ is still on you!"

"I am in complete control of my seal." Sasuke pulled the collar of his shirt back to reveal the curse mark in question. Somehow, no one noticed Sasuke's hands were now in front of him, instead of how they were originally cuffed. "It is activated and repressed according to my will and my will alone. It is not a problem for this village."

"You have high expectations of us, boy." The elder said, propping himself against the wall. "To think you could just waltz back in here like the past three years haven't happened?"

Sasuke didn't respond to this, instead he merely fixed his shirt and looked directly at Tsunade. The woman frowned and sat back in her chair. The sad truth of the matter was that no matter what she decided, the final decision was the council's alone. Because of Sasuke's wanted status, whatever happened to him, his punishment would be their decision and they weren't afraid to pass down judgment on others. Knowing what punishment to expect from the council standing beside her, she sighed.

"Uchiha Sasuke, you are to be held in a maximum security prison for no less than five years." The council jumped back when Sasuke bolted up out of his chair. It wasn't anything like the sentence he thought he'd get. This was much harsher, and way more than he deserved, at least in his opinion.

After the punishment was handed out, there was a moment of pure panic flooding the Hokage office. The ANBU rushed to Sasuke, who, since he bolted out of his seat, was immediately considered a threat, and detained him quickly. Tsunade stood up, attempting to hold back a fuming councilman, and wound up knocking her chair through the wall behind her. If listening close enough, one could barely make out the panicked cry of Izumo and Kotetsu, who were attempting to carry a stack of paperwork up the stairs and, upon hearing the wall practically exploding, dropped the paperwork and went running to see what happened. Shizune, who was standing outside the Hokage's door, and upon hearing the boom of the chair busting through the wall, threw the door open and hit an older councilwoman in the face, who was attempting to escape the havoc, breaking her nose. In her attempt to heal the poor woman's nose, she knocked over the chair Sasuke _was_ sitting in, essentially hitting an ANBU agent in the back of the knee and knocking him down. The agent was holding onto Sasuke's shoulder and wound up dragging the poor Uchiha with him, along with his other five ANBU agents. They wound up in a huddled mass of limbs and assorted body parts on the floor.

All in all, Sasuke's homecoming was nothing short of a spectacle. If one didn't know any better, they'd think it was Naruto in that office. Sadly, they were wrong. It would be almost four hours after Sasuke's punishment was handed out, and applied, that Uzumaki Naruto would return from his mission, only to find out his best friend returned home and was sent directly to prison for five years.

A havoc and panic all Naruto's own would flood the Hokage's office this time, and would evidently leave the poor aging Hokage with a migraine bigger than Naruto's ego that would last three months, or at least until Naruto calmed down. And, hell, with the situation currently at hand…it could definitely take quite a while.

* * *

So, I said it would be a while, and I lied. I began thinking about this idea and decided to act on it. I just really, really, really hope you enjoy it.  
And, besides, xemorockprincessx told me if I didn't post it, she'd stalk me until I finished it. Ain't that right, hun? lol! XD


	2. Chapter 1

**Inevitable  
****Chapter One**

_His world is dark, the sky a canvas of midnight blue. One thing is off, however, as a six year old Sasuke looks up to the blood-red moon. Atop a power line pole is a figure, although when Sasuke takes another look, he sees nothing. Was it his imagination?_

_Then he sees them, the bodies of his family – his clan – scattered along the ground. Various positions and various injuries, but it's the same with each one; they're all dead. He shakes his head, violently, from side to side, attempting to shake the horrific images from his memory. As his brain attempts to wrap itself around the reality of his current situation, a thought crosses his mind. _

"_If everyone else is dead…does that mean…mom and dad…?"_

_Six year old Sasuke, with a solitary thought of his parents running through his mind, scrambles down the cold and bloody street to his front door. Ripping it open, he stumbles inside the dark house. At first he sees nothing, just a cold contrast of moonlight on black. But the house is eerily silent, sending a chill through his spine. He hears something, some akin to a rustle or a flop, coming from the living room. He sprints toward it, his heart beating through his chest, rattling his rib cage. _

_The moment he slammed the door to the living room open, Sasuke regretted it. What wait for him there was nothing short of horrific and nightmarish. It takes the poor six year old boys fragile mind through a torment of emotions and heartbreak. _

_Both of his parents lie on the floor in a sick dog pile, his father over his mother almost protectively. A figure stands looming over them, the same figure from before. It took Sasuke a moment to take his eyes off his parents and fully focus on the looming figure, but he eventually did. The looming figure was none other than his brother, Itachi, in his ANBU uniform. _

_At first he couldn't quite figure out what his brother was doing there. Why would he stand there, looming like that, and not attempt to help their parents? Itachi was just there, with a blank look on his face, staring at nothing. A chill crawled down Sasuke's spine, making him shiver as he stood there, staring at his brother._

"_Brother, Father and Mother were…" He heard himself say, but he didn't recognize his own voice. It was shaking and hoarse, unlike his normal pre-pubescent voice. "Why? Who would do this?"_

_A shuriken buzzed past his shoulder, ripping the cloth there in, almost, a delayed reaction. His body froze, unable to comprehend his own brother throwing a shuriken at him, until the pain hit his nervous system. Instinctively, Sasuke grasped at his wound, his knees still shaking. _

"_What are you doing, brother?" Sasuke asked, his eyes begging for some sort of civility and compassion. _

"_Foolish little brother." Itachi said, almost offhandedly. _

_Suddenly, Sasuke was fifteen and standing in an abandoned room. Itachi was sitting in a stone chair a few yards in front of him. _

"_Foolish little brother." Itachi repeated with the same tone to his voice. "Do you really think you can beat me?"_

_Sasuke bared his teeth and growled, charging Itachi with a chidori. It connected with a sickening sound of ripping flesh and breaking bones. Sasuke could nearly smell the burnt flesh as his hand wrapped around his brother's heart, and closed his eyes. _

"_We are friends, Sasuke, aren't we?"_

_Sasuke's eyes snapped open, his onyx meeting bright, crystal blue. Naruto. The blonde's face was pale as the blood rushed out from around Sasuke's arm, which was currently buried in Naruto's chest. Trickles of blood slowly poured out from the corner's of his mouth, which was agape. _

"_Aren't we, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, his head cocking to the side. "If we're friends, then how could you kill me?"_

An ANBU guard came running down the corridor, sliding to a stop in front of cell number seventy-five. Inside, Uchiha Sasuke sat straight up in his bed, clutching his right hand with his left, holding them both close to his chest, and breathing heavily. The scream he previously let slip out his throat is what alerted the guard, his heavy breathing is what will alert the medical ninjas.

"Everything alright in here, Uchiha?" The guard asked, not sure of what else to say.

Sasuke looked up, not realizing the guard had made an appearance at all until he spoke. He nodded his head, but was still shaking.

The guard sighed and began his long walk back to the guard's station. When he entered the room, the other guards gave him a questioning look and raised eyebrows.

"The Uchiha again?" One asked, taking his gaze back to his cup of coffee.

"Yeah."

"He's been doing that for quite a while, hasn't he?" Another asked from his position at the soda machine. "Ever since he came in, I heard."

The one opening a bag of potato chips stopped and tilted up his mask. "You'd be right. I was here when they brought him in, you know. Had his first nightmares after they told him that Uzumaki kid was injured."

The other guards all exchanged glances. The one who went running earlier sighed, but returned to his sandwich.

"Damn kids."

---------------------------------

Tsunade glared at the medical ninjas, who were standing in a line in front of her desk. None of them were daring to meet her eyes in case her glare could actually set them on fire, or in case she'd save time and just throw them out a window.

"I'll ask it again, then, since I don't seem to be getting any answers." Tsunade growled. "Why have I _not_ been getting any reports on the health of the maximum security prison?"

A few of the medical ninjas exchanged looks before one of them, the youngest one in the group, ironically, straightened her back and raised her head. "We are ordered, by the council, to give all medical reports involving one Uchiha Sasuke to them."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, her glare turning into amusement. "Do they really, now?" A moment passed before she opened her mouth and drew in a deep breath. "Shizune!" She bellowed, making all the ninjas in the room jump.

Tentatively, Shizune opened the door and peeked her head inside. "Yes, Lady Tsunade?"

"Shizune, please inform the council that I wish an audience with them today, no exceptions."

"Ye-yes, ma'am." Shizune said, bowing, before shutting the door behind her.

Tsunade sighed and sat back in her chair, forgetting for a moment the other ninjas were there still, and rubbed her temples. When she cracked her eye open and saw the others still standing there, she let her eyebrow raise. "Um…you can go now."

Five ninja have never scrambled from her room so fast, or at least that she could remember.

---------------------------------

The Fifth Hokage was never one to be taken lightly, nor was she taken that way in her younger days. You'd think age would mellow a person out, and it may very well be true, but not when Tsunade stood in front of the council. Normal people, even Jounin ranked ninja, would feel uneasy standing in front of a circle of elders, respected elders, who could, and mostly would, hold your career in their hands. But not Tsunade, who stood in front of them, every time she had to, with her back straight and head held high. She was never afraid of them because she knew, if it ever came down to it, she'd pawn them all in a battle. Not that the council ever engaged in, what they deemed, 'needless' battles, but the thought that she could, in fact, pawn them gave her comfort.

It wasn't often Tsunade and the council met because of the woman's request, but today was an exception. She stood in front of them, proud as she had every right to be, and took a deep breath. Today was the day the council got reamed a new asshole, literally and figuratively.

"You have something on your mind, _Lady Tsunade_? Please do tell." The eldest elder of the council, who was a portly old man with an ego as big as his overly large head, had a lot of balls or was just stupid. No one was stupid enough to think they were above Tsunade, except Jiraiya, but he was the only exception, and attempted to use her name in that manner. No one dropped the honorific of "-sama" and lived to tell the tale. But this councilman had balls, or was lacking his brains and common sense. Either way, Tsunade drew down her eyes and attempted to calm herself down before he received some very sore, very broken, bones.

"Since when does the council out rank me when the matter of _medical reports_ are involved? I, the _Hokage_, am to receive all medical reports from the village _first_."

"Since when does the _Hokage_ out rank the _council_?"

Tsunade gritted her teeth. Oh yes, this man was lacking the common sense of _not_ pissing off a woman who could kill you with the simple flick of a finger. "Since I have more medical knowledge than all of you put together, councilman. I want all the medical reports I haven't seen on my desk by the end of today."

"And, if we don't comply, what will you do?" He asked, his voice cocky as ever.

Tsunade tried to find this cocky man's name in her mind, but she was coming up a blank. Apparently he just wasn't important enough for her to log in memory, but he was quickly becoming the top of her 'to kill' list. She opened her mouth to answer when the woman to his right, who she knew only as Sasushi, tapped him on the shoulder and whispered something in his ear. Suddenly the very portly old man stood up and walked briskly out of the room. Tsunade raised an eyebrow, but refrained from commenting.

Sasushi turned to Tsunade and gave a friendly smile. "We were not keeping them from you because we felt better than you, Tsunade-sama. We merely were worried about these reports getting in the wrong hands."

"So, when was I to know about it?" Tsunade couldn't help but ask, it was her job they were interfering with. "When you felt like talking to me about it."

"We apologize for Teushi's behavior. He was meant to plan a meeting with you for some time. We kept stopping him, as we know of the increase in patients since the Great War. That and the fact that you've been straining yourself between the hospital and Hokage duties, we felt better if we didn't bother you at all about this small matter." Sasushi was still smiling warmly, giving her the same look Sai normally had when trying to act sincere but not quite knowing how. It was borderline creepy.

"That's all well and good, but as the Hokage I deserved to be made aware of any health problems in the prison, especially of Uchiha Sasuke. He's a top priority, as you well know."

"You are correct, Lady Tsunade. We are sorry." Before Sasushi's sentence was over, Teushi came back, carrying a pile of folders and paperwork, and handed them to an ANBU guard, who in turn handed them to Tsunade.

Immediately, the Hokage began sifting through them until she saw what she was looking for. Uchiha Sasuke's prison health file.

She scanned it quickly, taking in everything, until a repeating word hit her hard. "Nightmares? He's been having nightmares?"

A councilman to the far right nodded. "From what we've heard, they wake him up screaming."

Tsunade's eyes quickly focused on him, curiosity playing on her face. "Guilt?"

"We're not sure." Sasushi said, sighing. "But now that you have the files," she paused to give Teushi a slight glare. "Maybe you can tell us."

With a deep sigh, Tsunade gathered the files in a neat pile and made her way toward the door. Before she could grasp the handle, Sasushi stopped her.

"Tsunade-sama, if you're having trouble balancing the workload, you could always choose one or the other, and maybe appoint a new Hokage."

"You think I'm a bad choice for Hokage?" Tsunade asked, suddenly feeling very vulnerable. "I know I've been putting off certain things, but…"

"No, nothing like that. It's just not good for a woman your age to be going at this fast pace, this hectic pace." When Tsunade simply sighed, Sasushi went on. "It's been almost five years since the Great War. Maybe it's time to let the newer generation begin to take over. After all, this village will be theirs someday, let them attempt to run it while we elders are still here to help them along the way."

Tsunade nodded before slipping out the door. Maybe Sasushi was right, maybe it was time for a younger generation. Who was she kidding, anyway? She was getting way too old to fight for the village like she wanted to.

---------------------------------

Uzumaki Naruto was jumping through the trees, letting the wind rush through his hair. It was invigorating, he had to admit, letting the wind push against him as he forced his legs to carry him even faster. At twenty-one, Naruto also had to admit he'd grown quite a lot. He was taller, leaner, and stronger. But, at the moment, he was covered in blood and dirt and knew he had to smell something horrible. Chuckling, he jumped past the guard's station at the gate and bounced on rooftops until he found his apartment.

Not the same one he'd grown up in, Naruto found his new apartment to make a much better home. It was bigger, cleaner, and not at all controlled by some ruthless landlord who just loved to jack up the rent on a monthly basis. He dropped his ANBU mask, a beautifully orange and black fox given to him by Jiraiya and Tsunade on his eighteenth birthday, on the kitchen table and stripped off various pieces of clothing on his way to the bathroom. First things first, he needed a shower badly, and then he needed to wash his overly worn ANBU uniform. After all of that, then he'd sleep.

But sleep would not come, as he soon realized, when, barely out of the shower, there was a knock on his door. Figuring whoever was there could just deal with him being only in a towel, he opened the door.

On the other side of the door was Sakura, who was trying desperately to look at anything _but_ her half-naked and still wet teammate's body, began blushing profusely and stuttering, a sight that made Naruto force himself to hide a giggle.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" Naruto asked, cocking his head to the side with an innocent look on his face.

"Shut up, Naruto. Go get dressed. I have something really important to tell you." Sakura, still blushing, pushed past Naruto and took a seat at his kitchen table.

Snickering, Naruto hurriedly got dressed in a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt before joining her at the table. Sakura was busy fingering his mask, tracing the intricate patterns decorating the outside. She was fidgeting and absentmindedly tracing the patterns, making Naruto worry that this wasn't a 'good' important conversation.

"What's up, Sakura?" Naruto asked, his voice taking a much more serious tone than he had previously. Over the years, he'd been maturing and slowly becoming the man everyone knew had to be inside him somewhere, the serious and wiser Naruto.

Sakura met his eyes before taking a deep breath. "You didn't hear this from me, Naruto, because I wasn't supposed to hear it. I wasn't eavesdropping, per say, I just overheard it."

Smirking, Naruto urged her to continue. Of course Sakura was eavesdropping; it's what she did best, besides break things with her super-human strength.

"Tsunade's going to retire and appoint a new Hokage."

Naruto gaped at her for a second, his mind not comprehending what he'd just heard. He tried to mouth out something, anything, but it just resulted in making himself resemble a fish searching for air. His hands, which were currently haphazardly folded on the table, began curling into fists. His eyes were widened.

Finally, he found something akin to words. "Wha…Tsunade…huh?"

The pink haired ninja had to fight back a snicker at his current expression, but expected it all the same. "Apparently she feels that she's been focusing more on the hospital than her Hokage duties, so she's going to appoint herself Chief of Staff, or something like that, and appoint a new person to run Konoha." Sakura was waving her hands around in emphasis. "She was talking to Shizune about it."

"Granny Tsunade can't retire! She's the Hokage!"

"Well, she's going to. Or at least she's thinking about it."

"Who else did you tell, Sakura?" Naruto asked, standing up abruptly and nearly knocking the chair he was sitting on over.

"No one, why?" Then, as realization donned on her, she stood up herself. "No, Naruto. I wasn't supposed to hear, so you can't just go busting in there and yelling at her to stay in office. How are you going to explain how you know?"

"I'll just avoid the question, I'm good at that."

Sakura drew down her eyes and her face formed a deep frown, but followed after him anyway. Once Naruto had his heart set on something, there was no changing it. Sakura had learned that the hard way.

---------------------------------

Tsunade rubbed her temples and sat back in her chair. Six different medical reports and they all said, vaguely, the same thing. Uchiha Sasuke was suffering from night terrors brought on by a series of traumatic experiences. Not that the information _surprised_ her, she'd known it was a possibility all along, but seeing it in print was different. Couple that with the fact these reports claim Sasuke's been having the night terrors for almost five years now and Tsunade was slowly getting a migraine. The only way to cure them would be for deep and intense psychotherapy sessions, which she was sure the Uchiha would _never_ agree to. Now she was faced with the very real fact she had to cure something that you can't see or touch. Just the type of puzzle's she hated.

As if her migraine couldn't get any worse, Shizune opened the door to allow in two of her favorite, if most annoying, ninja.

"Naruto, Sakura, to what do I owe this visit?" Tsunade asked, still rubbing her temples.

"Why are you quitting, Granny?" Naruto asked, standing at the edge of her desk, palms flat on the wood, his eyes staring directly in hers, making her shift uncomfortably in her seat.

"Back from your mission so soon, Naruto? Where's my mission report?"

Naruto rolled his eyes and, pulling a crumpled piece of paper from his back pocket, slammed the said report on her desk. "There, now answer the question."

"How did you find out, brat?" Her honey colored eyes flickered over to a very guilty looking Sakura, before finding their way back to Naruto's intense glare. "Besides, what's it to you? You never wanted me to become Hokage anyway."

"I was immature and thirteen! If this has anything to do with you being an old hag, or the council…"

Tsunade reached across the desk and slapped the side of Naruto's head for the 'old hag' comment, but shook her head vigorously at the 'council' comment. Naruto's had issues with the council since their, in his opinion, unfair punishment of Sasuke. Not that she blamed him, but still it could make what happens next quite interesting. "Nah, not because I'm an _old hag_, or because of the council. There's too much good I could be doing in the hospital. I could be focusing all my time in training the next generation of medical ninja instead of assigning missions to genin."

"But, Tsunade-shishou…who would you get to replace you?" Sakura asked, her fingers playing with the hem of her skirt.

"Funny you should ask that, Sakura." Tsunade said, a smirk playing over her face. "Our next Hokage is standing right beside you."

As Sakura's mouth dropped open and she stared at Naruto in awe, Naruto turned around in a full circle to see who else was standing in the room. When he saw no one else, he arched an eyebrow and pointed at himself.

"M-me? Me? _Me_?" Naruto's eyes grew wide with every repeat until he sat down, hard, in the chair beside him. "No…no way…"

"Do you accept the position as Rokudaime of Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Uzumaki Naruto?" Tsunade reached behind her to grab the Hokage's hat she never wore. Standing up, she walked toward the still stunned, and still seated, Naruto, placing the hat on his head. Sakura, who still had not shut her mouth, put both of her hands over her face and squealed.

Naruto just continued to stare at her, not really sure of what to say.

"You've wanted this since before I met you, Naruto. Are you telling me you've changed your mind?"

"N-no…no, it's just I…"

"Accept it, Naruto. Your dream is coming true." Sakura said, her eyes misty. "You've earned it."

Smiling a little, his eyes still dazed, Naruto stood up. "I accept, Godaime. Thank you." He bowed low, holding on to his hat so it didn't fall off. Tsunade smiled and, once he stood back up, grabbed his chin and kissed his forehead.

"Congratulations, brat. Sakura's right, you've definitely earned this."

---------------------------------

A full two months later, Uzumaki Naruto sat in his Hokage office and took a deep breath. Even after this long, it still felt so new to him. It's not every day a lifelong dream comes true, but to those who have know it's a feeling that is all but explainable. There are no words, no emotions, nothing that can explain it. At twenty-one, Naruto became the youngest leader ever elected to Konoha, and had the full support of his village. That, he had to admit, surprised him. Especially when their _only _concern was his maturity level. Nothing about the fox demon, only his maturity. Of course, he did see their side. They all remembered, and had very memorable encounters, with the prankster Naruto used to be. So, to impede all concerns, Tsunade agreed to stay on as Naruto's advisor, a task which she was more than qualified for.

He welcomed the daily interruptions he'd gotten used to having, like his friends dropping in for a visit or Iruka bringing him ramen when Naruto's work overflowed into his lunch time. There was even the hourly pep talk his new assistant, Sakura, lovingly gave him. She graciously applied to assist him; in much the same manner Shizune assisted Tsunade, when he took office.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked, peeking around the door. "You okay? Need anything?"

"Nah, Sakura, I'm fine." He smiled, however, when she slipped in the door and sat in the chair in front of his desk.

"Happy Two Month Anniversary, Naruto." She smirked, picking at her nails.

"Yeah, two months already. How do you think I'm doing, Sakura?"

"Naruto. We go through this at least once a week, you're doing fine!" Sakura stopped picking her nails and stared at the blonde, who was weakening under her gaze. "You haven't destroyed the village, so alls well in the world."

Naruto furrowed his brow. "Not funny, Sakura."

Giggling, Sakura jumped up and hugged him. "Naruto, you are doing great. Stop worrying so much. Besides, if you make a bad decision, you'll have me and Tsunade yelling at you. Don't fret so much."

Naruto did feel slightly better when she let go of him, but he still had worries plaguing his mind. It was a huge responsibility sitting solely on his shoulders, a side of being Hokage he'd never entertained before. But he was living it, now, and he was beginning to feel as if Tsunade chose the wrong ninja to take her place. "What if something like the Great War happens again, Sakura?"

"The Akatsuki's gone, Naruto. It took all of us, but they're gone. There won't be another Great War, ever." Then, catching the strange look in his eyes, she knelt down in front of him. "Naruto, what's really wrong?"

Sighing, Naruto sat back. "It's been five years, Sakura. He'll be getting out pretty soon, you know."

Instantly, Sakura knew who Naruto was talking about. "Sasuke."

"Yeah, Sasuke." Pinching the bridge of his nose, he let the memory of his last encounter with Sasuke flood his senses. The steel of the bars, the smell and feel of the chakra that flowed through them, it was if he was standing in front of that cell all over again. Number seventy-five, the end of row seven. They watched him like a hawk, those ANBU guards. But Sasuke had never tried to escape, not for five long years, and not even when Naruto was asking him if he wanted to.

"_Sasuke, if you want out of here I'll help you."_

"_No, Naruto. I told myself I'd pay whatever price I had to. I'll make my treachery right, and this is how I have to do it."_

"_But, Sasuke! This is insane! Five years? You didn't hurt anyone!"_

"_I hurt you."_

Sakura was watching him, knowing which memory he was remembering, and sighed. She wasn't allowed to go in, then. Only Naruto, and only because it was he who Sasuke had been asking for. She thought it wasn't fair then, but she knew why he'd wanted only Naruto. They had a bond, a bond more special than either of them previously knew.

"We will handle it when he have to." She said, shaking Naruto from his thoughts. "Until then, don't dwell on it. You'll only give yourself a migraine."

Naruto smiled a little, but he still looked troubled. She excused herself, back to her paperwork, and left Naruto to his thoughts and memories. It was sooner than Naruto knew, Sasuke's release, and Sakura knew he'd have to prepare himself. Anyway he could.

---------------------------------

Naruto had met the council once before this moment, two months prior when being the Hokage was just a notion Tsunade offered him and not yet the realization he was currently living. Then, he stood in front of them, watching them size him up. They asked him questions, intense and psychological questions, testing his resolve, his strength, his everything. What they found out must have deemed him worthy, or he would not be standing in front of them as their Sixth Hokage, their Rokudaime. It surprised Naruto then, much as it still surprised Naruto now, how the council barely brought up the Kyuubi in a negative. They seemed more than satisfied with Naruto's claim he could now, at twenty-one, control the demon inside him. It had taken years, difficult training with Jiraiya and Kakashi, and finally he got to this point. The point where the fox inside his belly obeyed him, if only to a degree, and stopped attempting to escape at every flair of the blonde's emotions.

Instead of sizing him up, however, this meeting was for his benefit. The council, who formed a semi-circle at the end of a large room, stared down at him. Most were smilling, others staring with soft eyes. They actually approved of their new Hokage, and so far this one obeyed and worked with them a lot more than the two previous Hokage's had.

"Naruto-sama," Sasushi began, giving Naruto a shiver through his spine. Never, in all his life, did he ever think he'd hear an honorific like _that_ given to his name. "This meeting is to inform you of the impending release of Uchiha Sasuke."

If Naruto was feeling at ease, it immediately left him. "R-release? When?"

"Twenty days from now." Teushi said, tapping the paperwork on the wooden desk before handing it to the waiting ANBU guard beside him. "These are his release forms, for you to approve, of course."

"I…have to _approve_ his release?" He said, accepting the paperwork from the guard.

Sasushi smiled warmly. "Not to worry, Naruto-sama. I'm sure your advisor will explain everything to you."

Naruto walked out of there, paperwork in hand, with the full intention of dragging his advisor, and anyone else who could take the stress of this decision off his shoulders, into his office. When he reached the desk Sakura sat at, he stopped. She looked up slowly, taking in the desperate look on his face, and immediately stood up.

"Naruto, what's wrong?"

He couldn't speak. It was taking all his effort to _move_. So, instead, he handed her the stack of papers, which she looked at immediately, and waited for her response. Eventually, she looked back at him and nodded.

"I'll summon Tsunade. Anyone else?"

"Anyone who can help." Naruto said, his voice small, before retreating to the quiet of his office.

---------------------------------

"What was he like last time you saw him, Naruto?" Jiraiya asked, sitting on the edge of his desk. Even missing an arm and an eyeball, all on the same side, mind you, Jiraiya still brought this sense of power and cheerfulness into any room and any situation. And, even missing said parts of his anatomy, Jiraiya was still a pervert and still wrote his dirty books. Instead of using a pen and paper, however, he typed them up. Much more efficient, he'd said. Naruto knew, though, it was because he put a jutsu on his computer that typed everything he said. Jiraiya was clever.

"Remorseful, I guess. Said he deserved his punishment." Naruto had his elbows propped on his desk, his head in his hands covering his eyes. A tension headache like nothing he'd ever experience was creeping into his skull, it was almost maddening.

"Remorse is good." Jiraiya shrugged, looking at Tsunade.

"You're an idiot." Tsunade said through gritted teeth, placing a green glowing hand on the back of Naruto's neck. She succeeded in healing his tension headache, but she knew she'd be re-healing it within the hour. "I think that we should have Sasuke checked out psychologically."

"Some tests on his mental state wouldn't be a bad thing." Kakashi said from his place leaning against the wall. "What do you think, Sakura?"

Kakashi wasn't the only one who picked up on Sakura's unnatural quietness, especially when the conversation was centered on Sasuke. The young kunoichi sighed and shrugged. "Tests are good."

Naruto looked up, his face in a deep frown. "Tests are good? That's all you got for me?"

Sakura shrugged again. "I don't know, Naruto. Do I want him free? Yes! But at the expense of the village…_in case_…? I…no…"

"In case what, Sakura?" Naruto asked, arching an eyebrow. Again, Sakura shrugged.

"Naruto," Jiraiya started, drawing the younger man's attention. "You need to make this decision like a Hokage, not like his friend."

"Easier said than done with those two." Kakashi said, his eye crinkling up in a smile. "Naruto will make the right decision in the end, he always does."

Naruto snorted.

"Naruto, what do _you_ want to do with him?" Tsunade asked, sitting on the edge of the desk next to Naruto.

It took Naruto a minute to answer. He sat there mulling it over in his head before wording it all. "I want to set him free, but not if he will hurt the village. I guess that tests would be good, to make sure he doesn't hurt anyone." Naruto took a deep breath, running his hands through his hair, knocking off his Hokage hat in the process. "He deserves the chance to live free after he defeated his demon."

Kakashi nodded, swelling with pride at how much Naruto had grown. "I have to agree with him, Tsunade-senpai."

"Well, ultimately it is Naruto's decision. He's the Hokage, now."

Naruto shot her a look between a glare and pleased before turning back to the group. Sighing, he stood up and walked toward one of the large windows. He stood there for a long time, one arms pressed against the window at the elbow, his forehead pressed against his forearm, a million and one thoughts running through his mind. Sakura was torn between going to Naruto and letting the boy – no, wait, man? – deal with his thoughts on his own. Before she could make a decision of her own, he turned around and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the window.

"I…I want to talk to him." He met Sakura's eyes for a second before turning to Tsunade. "I want to know what _Sasuke_ wants."

"Very well, _Lord Hokage_." Tsunade said before leaving the room.

---------------------------------

There were few luxuries maximum security prisoners were allowed while incarcerated. Of course they weren't allowed with things they could kill themselves with, but a few things they asked for weren't so bad. Like, for instance, Sasuke's only request was to have a notebook and a pen. That's it, a simple request, which Tsunade graciously allowed him.

Over the next five years, Sasuke kept a log of each and every nightmares, or night terror, he had. Within time he had filled that log and asked for a new one, and a new pen. This happened every few months or so, the guards would deliver a new set of pen and paper to the Uchiha, who accepted it and began hastily writing his latest dream.

During this day, what is soon to be his most infamous day in five years, he was sketching the most current nightmare, or night terror, whichever you prefer to call it, hastily in his latest notebook, a cerulean blue one. On the front cover he'd drawn, intricately, the Uchiha crest symbol, darkening in the red part with his black ball point pen. Few had known of Sasuke's knack for drawing. He had a talent for it, but it hardly counted as a ninja skill, so he never perfected it. But, even without perfecting, the skill was at a high enough level to draw out some scenes from his dreams.

The Uchiha mansion, where he'd grown up, seemed to be the start of each dream. At least until they took their horrendous turn. Then he could wind up anywhere, and always killing Naruto in the end. They left him, each and every morning, feeling a mixture of sad and lonely and every feeling in between. A million mixtures would flow from him, making him wake up in a cold sweat and screaming.

Sasuke stopped his ministration on the page when he heard the soft footsteps of a guard coming toward his cell. He could always tell, just by the way the footsteps fell, which cell they were stopping at. The quick pace they were taking now was a sure sign it was _his_ cell. Closing his notebook, Sasuke sat still until whomever it was appeared at his door.

One thing Sasuke had always hated about chakra-encoded bars was they way they diluted the chakra signatures of the guards and other people who came near his cell. But, as the footsteps fell closer to his door, the chakra signature leaked through his cell bars. His skin began to prickle as it felt a signature it hadn't felt in almost five years.

"Naruto."

Naruto, who was less than six feet from Sasuke's cell, stopped walking and smiled. "I'm glad you remember me, Sasuke."

Somewhere in his brain, Sasuke knew he had a good retort, but the second he turned around to face his friend – if Naruto still was considered his _friend_ – and saw the clothes he was wearing, there were no words to form. The last remaining Uchiha was speechless and gaping like a fish out of water.

"You…you…you're the…_Hokage_?!"

* * *

Oh yes, xemorockprincessx, I promised you chapter one and I delivered. Hope it lives up to your expectations. It's a lot long than the one's I _normally_ write. I think I'm brain dead now.  
Enjoy, everyone! RnR 


	3. Chapter 2

**Inevitable  
****Chapter Two**

Standing with the guards of the maximum security prison was not, exactly, Sakura's idea of a good time. Hell, if she had to choose she'd be back healing fish again, at least that way she wouldn't have four men, who were way too old for her in the first place, trying their hardest to look down her shirt. Not that they'd have a chance in hell, even if they _were_ her age. Ever since she'd came in that room they'd been trying to get to her, and she had, quite violently, told them what they could do with their hands.

Perverted damn jounin.

They were pushing their luck with their 'analyses' of what kunoichi were made of. They'd hinted at everything between damsels in distress to village bicycles, all of which were giving her a migraine and an anger management disorder fitting of her urge to pummel them all into next week. And, Lord knew, she could.

"Pretty little things become kunoichi these days, don't they?"

Deepening her scowl, Sakura crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall. They didn't, however, take the hint she was giving them. They kept it up, saying more and more until she was ready to snap.

"I heard, once, that all kunoichi were made for was mission sex, straight and simple."

A gloved fist hit that jounin so hard, he barely saw it coming. He also didn't see the cement wall he was flying at until he'd, very abruptly, flew clean through it. It wasn't until his body was lying flat on the hard ground, outside the prison, that he realized he'd been hit at all. The last thing he saw before passing out was a fuzzy vision of bright pink hair and extremely angry green eyes.

All in all, Sakura wasn't having a great time.

--------------------------------------------------

"You…you…you're the…_Hokage_?!"

Naruto had to laugh, letting the sound start from deep down and slowly erupt from his throat. The look on Sasuke's face was, for lack of a better word, _priceless_. Onyx eyes as wide as saucers, mouth hanging open, a look of pure shock gracing his usually blank features, Sasuke looked comic.

"Yeah, been Hokage for two full months now." Naruto puffed out his chest and smiled brightly, flicking his hat with his index finger. "Surprised?"

Sasuke, in an attempt to compose himself, just snorted.

"I'll take that as a yes." Naruto took a few more steps toward Sasuke's cell, closing the gap three more feet. "How are you doing, Sasuke?"

"Not as good as you, apparently."

Naruto watched as Sasuke brushed back the long bangs of hair, which had grown much longer since his incarceration, behind his ear. It was eerie how much like Itachi Sasuke had grown to resemble. If Sasuke hadn't always had those subtle differences in his appearance, one would have almost thought he _was_ Itachi. But, to Naruto, the differences weren't so subtle. The sound of his voice, the softness in his eyes, it was all proof that this man was his _friend_, and Sasuke wouldn't hurt him again.

"They're treating you well, right? I told Grandma Tsunade to make sure."

"Naruto, I'm in a maximum security prison. It's not exactly a high-class resort spa." Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"You know what I mean, Sasuke." Naruto said, taking a few more steps. He reached toward the bars, only to have the chakra zap him, and pulled his hands back. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to remember the hand signs needed to un-chakra-encode the bars. Finally, Tsunade's words flooded his memory and he began forming the signs, the chakra slowly fading from the bars.

"Learned a lot, have you?" Sasuke asked, arching his eyebrow curiously.

"Yeah, you could say that." Then, putting his hands on the bars like he wanted to before, Naruto leaned in closer to Sasuke. "In twenty days, Sasuke, you'll be released from here. I want to know what you want to happen to you after being set free."

"Free?" Sasuke asked, placing his hands on the bars next to Naruto's hands, leaning forward in much the same way. "You think I'll be free? You're _really _asking me what my next punishment should be, right?"

Naruto shook his head. "I won't let you be punished any more, Sasuke. There are still things you'll have to do, things the council needs to approve, so you can be fully free to be a ninja."

"A ninja?" Sasuke asked, leaning forward. "After everything I've done, and you'll let me be a ninja?"

"It's my decision, Sasuke." Naruto said, his voice getting louder as his emotions took over. "The only thing I'm going to ask of you is a few tests to calm the council's fears, and then-"

"What tests?"

"Psychology-type questions, to see where your mind is at." Naruto shrugged the question off as if it was nothing, solely in an attempt to calm Sasuke's mind.

"Whose idea was that, Naruto?" Sasuke asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Tsunade's, she's my advisor, now." Naruto watched how Sasuke's eyes flicker emotions that he couldn't catch in time to name. "Sasuke…"

The last remaining Uchiha, who could have passed for his older brother in both appearance and stature, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It's not that Sasuke thought the world would stop moving until he was allowed out, but by the looks of Naruto's face, he'd missed out on a lot in Konoha. He did have a conscious, contrary to some people's opinions, and missed certain things he'd grown accustomed to during his life in Konoha. The nostalgia he'd felt when walking toward the gate was proof enough of that. If he'd been able to make his _friends_ – a term he used loosely in some cases – see his side of the situation, of the last seven years, then maybe everything would have turned out differently. Maybe, _if_, he wouldn't be standing on the wrong side of a prison cell talking to his best friend who'd just had his lifetime goal-_slash_-dream come true.

Opening his eyes, slowly, he saw the sight of Naruto's white Hokage robe with red and orange flames licking up the sides. Underneath the robe, Naruto's outfit resembled Kakashi's to an extent; the black pants and long-sleeved shirt, green flack jacket, ankles wrapped down to his black sandals, he resembled someone else, someone who Sasuke couldn't name at that moment. He looked like royalty, like a true Hokage, and Sasuke didn't know whether he was proud or envious.

"Sasuke, you okay?" Naruto's eyebrow was arched up, his face taking a confused expression. "You, um, kind of spaced out there."

"I'll take whatever tests you want, Naruto." Sasuke said, his voice low.

He turned around and took his seat in front of the small desk and notebook. Naruto was still standing at the cell door, hands on the bars, not moving. Sighing, Naruto let go of the bars and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Are you going to _behave_ during the tests?" Naruto's voice was almost teasing as he spoke, making the Uchiha look at him and smirk.

"I'll play nice with your medical ninja, I promise."

--------------------------------------------------

_It's the same dream as before, six year old Sasuke notices as he walks down a body-riddled street. The same cold, dark street, the same blood red moon, the same looming figure on top of an electric pole, and yet Sasuke walks toward his home, oblivious to what he'd find inside. _

_Itachi loomed over his parent's bodies, not staring at anything in particular, until Sasuke spoke. Then those blood red eyes were staring at him as a kunai pierced his shoulder. _

_This time, six year old Sasuke didn't run. This time, six year old Sasuke pulled a katana out of nowhere and charged his brother, the tip of the katana pointing directly at the bastard's cold and hardened heart. _

_Until it connected…_

_Then it wasn't Itachi's cold and hardened heart the katana pierced through. It wasn't Itachi's blood dripping down the blade and dropping slowly to the floor. It wasn't Itachi's cold, blood-red eyes boring into Sasuke's own. _

_It was Naruto; Naruto's blue eyes, Naruto's heart, Naruto's blood. _

_Sasuke panicked as he watched the life pour from Naruto's eyes, his skin turning pale. It's as if everything, Naruto's entire dying process, was speeding up before his eyes. But one thing remained; Naruto's will to live. _

"_We're friends, right Sasuke?" Naruto asked, the blood seeping out of the corners of his mouth, his teeth being stained from the crimson liquid. "Why do you want to kill me?" _

_Sasuke shook his head violently, the tears he didn't realize he was crying were sent flying. "No, Naruto…not you…"_

_Using the last of his will, Naruto reached out and cupped Sasuke's cheek with one hand and smiled. His mouth opened, lips forming words Sasuke couldn't hear. _

"_What?" Sasuke asked, leaning closer to the blonde, but the cerulean eyes closed and his breathing stopped. Sasuke cried. _

Sasuke sat straight up in his hospital bed, ripping off the sensors he had stuck to his forehead. Immediately machines began going off and he could hear the faint sounds of nurses scrambling around outside his door, as well as ANBU guards, but ignored it all. At that present time, he was way too busy steadying his heart beat and breathing as the emotion overhaul from his dream tore him up.

The door slammed open, making Sasuke jump slightly, as he was still stuck in the hazy state of half-out and half-in a dream, revealing a very flustered Sakura.

"Sasuke, what are you doing?" She asked, her hands on her hips. But, upon seeing the look on his face, her hands dropped to her sides and she rushed to his bed. "Are you okay? I thought you were sleeping so I told them to leave you alone." She motioned to the ANBU guards, who were standing watch at the door, to back off. They, reluctantly, took their place back outside the doorway, one standing on each side.

Sasuke looked at her, noticing how different she really was since he'd seen her, really looked at her, last. She wasn't small and weak anymore. Once again, something else that had changed in Konoha, with his friends.

"Please, Sasuke," Sakura sat down on the edge of his bed, trying to bring his hands down from clutching his chest, something he didn't even realize he'd been doing. "Talk to me."

"It was nothing, Sakura." He answered, his voice hoarse for reasons unknown to him. "I'm fine."

She frowned at him, her gaze scrutinizing. "Alright, if you're sure." But she knew he wasn't. She kept frowning at him until he finally looked away from her piercing gaze.

"I'm fine."

Sakura sighed, but didn't push it. She hadn't seen him in seven years, now wasn't the time to lose a friendship she wasn't sure she still had. He was trembling, she realized, as his hands lie loosely at his sides. "Does anything hurt?" She asked after a while.

Sasuke looked around the room at the machines before answering. It's not like anything they had him hooked to _would_ hurt him, they were only testing his brain waves and health stats, nothing extreme. He shook his head, making her smile slightly.

"That's good. We want you to be as comfortable as possible, per order of our Hokage." She said it with a slight smirk on her face, making him feel more at ease. "Were you surprised, when he came to see you? I'll bet your face was priceless."

"Hn." Sasuke shrugged, forcing the smirk trying to take over back down.

"Yeah, yeah." She said, flipping her hand at him. "I know your mouth probably hit the floor. He's grown up a lot since you've last seen him, you know."

"So I've seen."

It was an offhanded comment, not even to be taken intentionally, but Sakura did. She arched an eyebrow and stared at him in curiosity for a second before replacing it with a smile. She never showed it, in all their time together, but Sakura had always had a knack for reading Sasuke like an open book. It was little things, little twitches his face portrayed that normal people didn't get, that tipped him off every time. Naruto read him differently, she learned. He read his eyes, which Naruto swore could tell someone everything. Although different, each of their methods got the same results. Sasuke had, if only subconsciously, liked what he saw. He'd liked that Naruto had grown up, matured, and became a different version of the same silly teenage boy he'd known. There was no mistaking it, no mistaking the emotions flickering though his eyes and over his face. It was exactly what Sakura had always feared. He'd never looked at her the way she'd looked at him because, frankly, he was looking elsewhere. All along, even if he'd not realized it, he'd been looking at Naruto.

The door to the room opened and Tsunade walked through, holding a clipboard in her hand. She peered out over top the board and smiled slightly.

"Hello, Uchiha. How are you feeling?"

"Fine."

Sakura snickered lightly. "He's a big talker, Tsunade-shishou, always was."

"So I hear." Tsunade took a seat on the stool in front of one of the machines and began checking the readings. "Any pain anywhere?"

"No." Sasuke said, eyeing the older woman carefully. "Should I be in pain?"

Tsunade put the clipboard on her lap and faced Sasuke fully. "Sometimes these tests can make you feel…uncomfortable, but it's nothing you can't handle, I'm sure."

"So, how am I doing, Lady Tsunade?" Sasuke asked, leaning back against the bed's headboard. He looked at Tsunade with an inquisitive look. "Am I good…or evil?"

Smirking, Tsunade leaned forward. "What do you _want_ to hear, Uchiha?"

Sasuke sighed and leaned his head against the cool wall. "The truth."

--------------------------------------------------

Of all the daily routines Naruto had to get used to, being the Rokudaime, he never expected to have Konohamaru bursting in and out of his office at all times of the day. But, as it goes, Konohamaru had earned the nickname of 'The Next Naruto Uzumaki' and strived to live up to it. That boy, even though he _should_ have been grown out of it by now, especially at the age of seventeen, did more pranks, and perhaps pranks that were _worse_ than Naruto's, and drove the current Hokage absolutely _insane_. Naruto was torn between smacking Konohamaru and punishing him just for being annoying and laughing hysterically and giving the boy a medal for some of the things he'd thought up.

By far, Naruto's favorite Konohamaru prank was the day he got Sakura to faint. It was priceless and, as the amazing kunoichi she is, should have been completely avoidable. He sent her a letter, which claimed to be from Shikamaru, for whatever reasons, asking her to meet him on the hillside that Shikamaru usually occupied. He conned that poor girl to the top of the hill and surprised her by transforming a shadow clone into Shikamaru…a very _naked_ Shikamaru.

Her first tip off should have been the strange way Shikamaru was acting, not to mention that he was, in fact, _naked_. Acting like being naked on top of the hill was entirely normal, Shikamaru asked her to lay with him, watch the clouds, and talk. By this time in the story, Naruto was trying, with every ounce of his might, to _not_ laugh, and it was barely working. Sakura, being the modest kunoichi she was, tried to be as discreet as possible in telling Shikamaru he was, in fact, _naked_, but the man just wouldn't listen. Just kept talking. And then, from behind a tree on top the hill, came an equally naked Ino. It was then that the duo, with arms wrapped around each other, asked the innocent Sakura to participate in a three-way with them. They even went as far as to say that, if everything with the three-way went well, they'd ask Chouji to join them.

It was then that Sakura fainted.

But today, Konohamaru's prank turned out differently than he'd expected, and now Naruto was forced to punish him.

"Konohamaru," Naruto started, trying to sound like a mature authority figure instead of the boy-turned-man that taught him the dirty things he knew. "I have to punish you for this, you killed the poor lady's bird." Before Konohamaru could interject, Naruto continued on. "The prank went bad, brat. Deal with it and handle your punishment like a true Konoha shinobi."

"But Naruto-niichan! I didn't mean to hit the bird! I was aiming for that ugly vase-thing she had!" Konohamaru said, jumping out of his seat. The Jounin who brought him in, Genma, grabbed the boy's shoulder and pushed him back in the chair. "The damn bird was so old, it's probably a coincidence and it just died of old age, or something!"

Naruto sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "D-rank missions for a month, Konohamaru. And, if you skip out on _any_ of them, I'll have you on mission room duty for a year."

Konohamaru glared intently at Naruto and turned to stomp out. "You're no fun anymore."

The words hit Naruto hard as Konohamaru slammed the door to his office shut. He knew, on many levels, being a Hokage changed him. He'd become more mature, more serious, but it wasn't his fault. Some things people just _can't _control, and Naruto had found that out the hard way…on _many _occasions. He never meant to turn this way on Konohamaru, who viewed him as an older brother and, in turn, was viewed as Naruto's little brother, the sibling he'd always wanted but never had. He'd wanted to be the older brother Konohamaru wanted, but it wasn't meant to be. The blonde man slumped down in his seat, putting his forehead against the desk. "I'm a horrible Hokage."

Genma smiled at Naruto's mumbling and ruffled his hair. "No your not. Konohamaru just needs to grow up…a lot."

Naruto lifted his head slightly and smiled weakly. "Thanks, Genma."

No sooner did Genma walk out that Kiba walked in, smiling brightly with Akamaru at his side. "Hey, Naruto-_sama_! What's goin' on?"

The new Hokage loved to see his friends come in, especially when they were just there to break up the action – or lack thereof – of his duties. He didn't, however, like the way they felt the need to use honorifics with his name. He was the same Naruto they'd grew up with, went to the academy with, fought along side too many times to count. It's as if they forgot, sometimes. With another sigh, Naruto sat up straight and put on a fake smile.

"Hey, Kiba."

Instantly, Kiba sensed something was wrong and took a seat in the chair Konohamaru vacated only moments earlier. "Naruto, something wrong?"

"I had to punish Konohamaru. He did a prank that turned out wrong. Some poor old rich lady's bird died in the process." He paused while Kiba forced down a snicker. "Gave him D's for a month. He's not too happy with it, though. Told me I'm 'no fun anymore'."

Akamaru walked around the desk and licked Naruto's arm. The blonde reached down to pet his head as Akamaru laid it on Naruto's lap. "Ah, hell, Naruto." Kiba started, waving his arms around. "The kid just needs to grow up. You've got duties now, greater ones than we have, more important, too."

"That doesn't change the fact that I'm…" He didn't have time to finish, however, because Sakura busted through the door looking a little flustered. "Kiba, can we continue this later?"

Kiba eyed Sakura strangely before snapping his fingers for Akamaru's attention. "Yeah, no problem, Naruto."

As soon as the door shut, Sakura took Kiba's emptied seat and sighed heavily. "He's…different, Naruto. You know?"

"Who are we talking about, Sakura?" Naruto asked, arching an eyebrow.

Sakura gaped at him before letting out an exasperated breath. "Sasuke, of course!"

"Oh, of course." Naruto rolled his eyes at her expression before turning more serious. "What did he say to you?"

"Nothing. I was just talking to him and all. He's just…different now."

Taking a deep breath, Naruto stood up and walked toward the window. It was his newest way to relieve stress, since he couldn't just take off and train until the wee-hours of the morning. No, now he had places to be, meetings to be in, and was in desperate need of a way to relieve his stress _and_ not have to leave the office. Staring out the window at the village below, or staring at the Hokage Faces, became the new outlet. Naruto just wasn't sure if it worked quite as well as rigorous training, but he'd have to deal with it for now. Sakura recognized the stance and walked over beside him. She placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to hold a reassuring smile.

"If he comes out still full of hate and anger, I don't know what I'd do." Naruto said softly. "He's still my best friend, you know? I just don't want to have to…"

Sakura hugged him tightly. "He's not, Naruto. He seems to have lost all that. Maybe killing Itachi really was what he needed, but he seems more at ease, or something. Of everything he _is_, Naruto, evil is what he _isn't_."

Naruto buried his head in her shoulder and smiled. "I'm glad, Sakura. I really, really am."

--------------------------------------------------

Kakashi Hatake stifled a yawn and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. This client was worse than Tazuna, with his 'feel sorry for me' speeches and fake crying, which was _really_ getting on his nerves. It wasn't like this was an S-rank mission or anything, it was a simple A-rank, and only because this man was rich and thought an A-rank bodyguard was better than a C-rank, which is all he really needed. The so-called _treasures_ Kakashi was supposed to be guarding weren't worth all this effort, but because he was _rich_ Kakashi had to suffer, and it was slowly driving him insane. When he got back to Konoha, the new _Hokage_ was going to get a piece of his mind…it was a _promise_.

When the Hokage gates came into view, Kakashi nearly did a series of somersaults to celebrate. He decided against it, of course, because that would be way to 'Gai-ish' and he just could not allow that. No more Gai than he _had_ to deal with during a day, it was a rule.

He sauntered up the Hokage stairs and knocked lightly on the door. He heard a familiar voice grunt something and took it as a 'come in'. The first thing he saw when he opened the door was a blonde head of hair lying on the desk, his hands curled into fists. Kakashi couldn't tell if Naruto was sleeping, resting, or frustrated. Either way, he walked over to the desk and placed his palms flat on the wood.

"Why, hello, Hokage-sama. Wonderful day we're having, isn't it?"

Naruto raised his head and glared. "Blow me."

Kakashi smiled, his eye crinkling as he went, as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Aw, c'mon, Naruto. You don't really mean that."

Rolling his eyes, Naruto sat back in his chair. "Kakashi-sensei, are you back from your mission already?"

"Yeah. I'm awesome like that." Naruto snorted, but Kakashi just smiled again. "Not that I _enjoyed_ that damn mission."

This time, it was Naruto's turn to smile. "I thought since you were getting so _old_, you'd enjoy a nice, easy mission."

Before Kakashi could slap Naruto for his comment, Sakura came fluttering into the office, carrying a stack of paperwork. Naruto groaned and buried his head in his hands.

"No more, Sakura, please?" He peeked out between his fingers to see Sakura glaring at him intently. "I'm tired."

"Buck it up, Naruto. You're the Hokage and this is part of your duty." She slammed the stack of papers on his desk, making Naruto wince, and placed her hands on her hips. "You're not _skipping out_ on any part of your duties, _are you_?"

"No, Sakura." Naruto said, almost mechanically. Kakashi fought back a snicker at his and Sakura's expression.

"Oh, by the way, I'll be leaving early today." Sakura said, flipping her hand at him before walking toward the door.

"Wait, why?" Naruto asked, standing up to see her over the paperwork.

"I, uh…have a date." She said, smiling innocently. "Welcome back, Kakashi-sensei. Did you have a nice mission?"

Naruto growled before Kakashi could answer. "A date? With who? I'll kill him, you know!"

"You will leave him alone, Uzumaki!" Sakura yelled. "He's a great guy!"

"Who is he?"

"None of your business!"

"If he hurts you, it will be my business!"

"Stay out of it! Find yourself a girlfriend and get off my case!"

Kakashi, listening to the banter between his two ex-students, smiled. It was just like old times, except with their grown-up problems. He began to chuckle and, taking a seat on the edge of Naruto's desk, he let nostalgia take over him.

"Kakashi-sensei, you okay?" Sakura asked, leaning down to peer into his gaze. "You, um, spaced out for a second. Do you need healing?"

"No, no, Sakura, I'm fine." Kakashi said, patting her on the head. "You guys just remind me of old times, that's all."

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked. "Don't tell me I need to give you a medical leave."

"Not for quite a while, I hope."

Naruto sighed with relief. "Good, because I can't fill out any more paperwork. Besides, I've never filled one of _those_ forms out yet."

"Naruto! You're worse than Tsunade-shishou!" Sakura berated them while Kakashi went back into his nostalgia.

Kakashi would never tell them, but he'd missed them terribly. There was a reason he'd never passed a genin team, and the reason was simple. He couldn't get attached to more people, people who could leave or die. Kakashi just didn't think he'd had it in him anymore, especially since Obito and Minato. No one else in his life could leave; he didn't think he'd handle it.

And then Sasuke left.

Kakashi was broken, just as broken as Sakura and Naruto, but never showed it. Instead, he poured all that anger and frustration and loneliness into his training, and it paid off. He'd learned to use the Mengekyou, without hurting anyone he'd loved, and learned to use it well. In the end, he couldn't help bring Sasuke home, but the boy, who reminded him so much of himself, came home on his own. The only regret Kakashi had now was that Naruto wasn't there to see him. But, at least he's here now, and in the perfect position to _help_ him.

--------------------------------------------------

The young Hokage padded around his apartment, incapable of sleeping, and tried to clear his mind of the running thoughts. They were scrambled, intangible, and annoying. They just would not leave. His mind, his running thoughts, would keep him up at night many times, especially when Sasuke was in Sound. But now, when everything should have been calm, he was plagued by them again. This time they weren't only of Sasuke, but of the village he was sought to protect. And, if possible, these thoughts were worse than the one's of Sasuke, the stake was greater and far more important…which is what he was _supposed _to think. But, somehow, Sasuke always weaseled his way into the more important category. It's just how Sasuke was, Naruto guessed.

Sakura did a great job of keeping his apartment clean, which she took care of once a week. She said, once, that he needed to grow up and become someone better than a pig, and Naruto did agree he just didn't have the _time_. Cleaning took time, which he usually only had when his thoughts kept him up at night. That's when he cleaned, but he'd been too exhausted lately to even do that. Once again, he was thanking Kami for Sakura.

Walking toward the shelf above his television, he caught sight of a picture Tsunade gave him a few months before, not much before he became Hokage. She gave it to him on the same day her and Jiraiya sat him down for an important discussion; the day they told Naruto who his parents were.

It was the first time in a long time Naruto had cried _that_ hard. He didn't know whether he was pissed off or excited. Pissed because his own father condemned him to the lifetime of torture he'd endured, all because of what his own father sealed within him; excited because he finally had a name and a face to put with his vision of parents. It took him quite a few weeks, and intense philosophical conversations with Sakura, before Naruto was finally able to look at the Hokage faces and see his father instead of _just_ the Fourth Hokage. Naruto had to admit he still wasn't over it, entirely, and still had moments where it wasn't real and he was still a parent-less orphan who had absolutely _no idea_ who created him and if they were in love or just a one-night-stand-gone-wrong.

Sighing, Naruto flopped on his couch and laid his head back. Staring at the ceiling, Naruto tried to organize his thoughts into neat little rows, or swirls, or _anything_ that would help him think. He wondered, in that moment, what his father would have done. What would the great Fourth Hokage have done if his best friend was considered an S-class missing nin, who'd come home on his own, sentenced to five years in a maximum security prison, and was getting out in under ten days? Where would his father have put him? Back in society? Or maybe house arrest for a while, just in case?

There were a million options, a million scenarios, and even how he would _deal_ with all of them, had they came true, swarming through his head and he still wasn't any closer to sleep. Naruto shook his head, trying to clear himself of those thoughts, and walked toward his bedroom. Figuring he wouldn't be getting any sleep sitting here, he thought he'd talk to his current problem. Maybe Sasuke would be awake.

* * *

So...not a lot happened in this chapter, but it's important because I foreshadowed _something_. But, if you don't catch it, you will in a few chapters. Still, I hope you enjoyed it. 


	4. Chapter 3

**Inevitable  
****Chapter Three**

_It was cold, so cold, and dark. The cement of the walls were covered in large, dripping streaks with something Sasuke cared _not_ to name, but the substance was dripping in his hair as he leaned against the wall, body on the floor, knees to his chest. The air was thick and hot, sticky on his skin. He closed his eyes, if only in an attempt to make the illusion cease. Knowing it was crazy his brain kept imagining the walls closing in on him, bringing the illusion of an evident crushing between two thick slabs of concrete that made up the walls. _

_A sound, akin to breathing restlessly, began reverberating throughout the small room. Raising onyx eyes, he began to see the fuzzy outlines of two people; Itachi and Naruto. There were standing on the opposite side of the room, an arms length away from each other, staring straight at Sasuke. His pale hands formed fists, making the knuckles turn white. Even in the dark, Naruto's eyes shimmered with his emotions, the one place he couldn't hide his pain. If one looked hard enough, Naruto's emotions were always written there, unlike Itachi's. His cold eyes never showed anything, another thing Sasuke inherited from his treacherous brother. Or so he thought._

_A hand gripped his shoulder – wait, where did the wall go? – and Sasuke's eyes met equally cold ones. Orochimaru. _

"_What do you want, Sasuke-kun? What do you _really_ want?" _

_Sasuke hated the way he talked. Orochimaru's snake-like voice made every thing he said sound almost like a tease, like his voice was filled with lust. It was disgusting. Revolting. And yet he'd endured over two years of it. _

"_What do you want, Sasuke-kun" Orochimaru's long tongue protruded from his mouth and made it's way to Sasuke's cheek, to which he immediately jolted away from. _

"_Don't touch me!" Sasuke hissed, glaring intently at the old man. _

"_Answer the question, Sasuke-kun? What do you want?" Orochimaru gestured over to where Naruto and Itachi were standing, a smile playing on his cruel face. "Do you favor the hatred or the – dare I say it? – love?"_

_The glare Sasuke was emulating ceased upon a certain four-letter word as Orochimaru began walking toward the two men. That damn tongue, the one Sasuke despised with a fury unlike any he'd ever known, slipped out from Orochimaru's lips and flicked over Itachi's cheek, who never moved. Sasuke, who didn't even flinch, just continued to watch the older man intently. What was Orochimaru planning? Seeing no reaction, Orochimaru turned to Naruto, his tongue protruding toward the blonde's neck. _

_Sasuke's white glowing hand, a ball of charged chakra mixed with lightening, charged at Orochimaru, cutting off the snake-sannin's tongue. A startled gasp left Orochimaru's mouth as Sasuke's hand, after cutting off the abnormally long tongue, ripped itself through Naruto's chest. The blonde never moved, never flinched, just stared straight ahead. The blood began, slowly, pouring out from around Sasuke's hand and dripped out the corners of Naruto's mouth. _

"_Na…Naruto…why?" Sasuke stuttered, forgetting all about Itachi and Orochimaru, they just weren't important enough. If he cared to notice, they two older men began slowly disappearing into the dark shadows of the room, leaving behind only him and Naruto. A sight and smell of blood was the only proof Naruto was dying, there was nothing Sasuke could do about it, and the blonde wasn't even flinching. _

"_You were my best friend, Sasuke. My most important person. I…Sasuke…I…"_

_Naruto mouthed something, something inaudible to Sasuke's ears, before his body dissolved around the pale arm jammed through his chest. _

_Sasuke screamed, again._

Naruto, dressed in only a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt, was padding his way through the prison. The halls were long, and dirty. The other guards were sleeping, soundly by the look of it, but that was no concern of his. In his few short months in office, he hadn't put anyone in there, so they had no beef with him, as far as he was concerned.

Nearly two-hundred-thirty-seven more steps until he reached Sasuke cell, his mind calculated. But that number drastically was cut to nearly a fourth when he heard the blood-curdling scream erupt from cell number seventy-five. It had been quite a while since he'd ran that fast, but his legs remembered how. Naruto slid to a stop in front of Sasuke's cell to see the Uchiha sitting up on his bed, clutching his arm tightly to his chest, breathing wildly. His hands went quickly through a set of seals, un-chakra-encoding the bars, and slamming the cell door open.

"Sasuke! Sasuke! What happened?" Naruto nearly yelled, grabbing a hold of the startled man by the shoulders.

It happened in slow motion, Sasuke reached out, clutching onto Naruto tightly, grabbing at the blonde's tanned chest through his t-shirt. "Not true, it didn't happen. Not true, it didn't happen. Not true, it didn't happen."

That sentence, those five words, kept flowing from Sasuke's mouth in broken and strangled gasps. He was scaring Naruto, who was still clutching Sasuke's shoulders tightly, trying to the get man to look at him _and _focus.

"Sasuke, what didn't happen?"

Onyx eyes, which weren't focusing on much of anything, widened considerably. "You." Sasuke let go of Naruto. "I didn't."

An ANBU guard skidding to a stop in front of Sasuke's cell, his expression shocked that the cell door was open. Upon seeing his Hokage sitting there, he was eased immediately.

"Get Sakura Haruno right now!" Naruto yelled, using his authority he'd so recently gained. The guard just stood there, staring in shock. "_Now_!"

After the guard left and his heavy footfalls could be heard getting softer as they went farther away from Sasuke's cell, Naruto sat back and took a deep breath before looking directly into Sasuke's eyes once again.

"Look, Sasuke, there were a million things I'd wanted to say to you when we were sixteen. There was almost six months of _nothing_ and then you randomly show up here!" Naruto stood up, tearing his gaze on Sasuke to look at the floor, or the wall, or anything that _wasn't_ his best friend. He paced for a few steps before dropping his voice low and continuing. "I wanted to break you out, to set you free. I was so angry they put you in here without letting me see you first. To talk to you."

_Why did you come back, Sasuke?_

_My revenge is done._

_Is that the only reason?_

_No, I came back for…for something else._

"Why did you come back, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, stopping in mid-pace around the room. The onyx eyes didn't shift from the piece of floor they were staring at to answer, only a twitch.

"My revenge wa-"

"No, not the same story you fed me five years ago." Naruto interrupted, waving his hands around in emphasis. "The _real _reason, the _truth_, is what I want to hear."

"Then I have nothing to say to you."

The hurt that instantly flashed through Naruto's cerulean eyes would have made anyone else fall into a puddle of goo, but Sasuke wasn't even looking. But just because he wasn't looking doesn't mean he didn't see it, he could imagine it. It was the same look he got at the Valley of the End, and again in Sound. A pure, raw broken heart.

Gathering his composure, Naruto straightened his stance and tried again. "You know, talking to you is like talking to a brick wall." Sasuke snorted in response. "You need to tell me what your dream was about."

Sasuke's head jolted up, in almost a jerk-like motion, and met his eyes. "I don't _need_ to tell you _anything_." His long, pale legs straightened as he stood up, his standing height still an inch or so above Naruto's own. "Don't, not even for a _second_, think that you becoming the Hokage means you have any kind of authority over me. Do you understand that, Uzumaki?"

As he spoke, and his emotions heightened ever so slightly, he began doing a very Naruto-like thing and was poking Naruto in the chest. By the time he was done, Naruto was sure he'd have a bruise there, not that it would _last_, mind you, but it still hurt. He was watching the emotions, the raw mixtures of each extreme, flickering through the onyx eyes, and was getting entranced by it almost as much as he did at thirteen and fifteen. Naruto couldn't have helped the smile spreading across his face if he tried, and allowed the moment of anger Sasuke showed at being mocked before hugging his best friend tightly.

"I missed you, Sasuke. A lot."

With a roll of his eyes, Sasuke tried to push away from Naruto. "You're still the same childish idiot you were back then, you know."

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Two ANBU guards, both Naruto's personal bodyguards, landed behind several bushes aligned as a fence between two restaurants. They exchanged looks as their current assignment was dancing between two men and laughing.

"Should we interrupt?" Kanji asked, arching his eyebrow at the other, although he couldn't see it under his hawk mask and all.

"We have to, Hokage's orders." Tarezu answered. They turned to look back into the open dining part of the restaurant and watched the pink haired kunoichi dancing between two men who were not from her genin team.

They both shrugged and made their way onto the outside dance floor, avoiding tables, customers, and waiters with heavy trays on the way there. Tapping on her shoulder, she abruptly turned around and glared intently at them, a glare that made them both internally shiver. They, of course, heard what this particular woman did to the prison guards roughly a week before.

"Haruno Sakura, we need you to come with us."

The woman glared intently at them some more before crossing her arms over her chest, which was exposed more than normal due entirely to the dress she was currently wearing. "On whose orders?"

"Hokage-sama's. Please, you need to come with us."

Sakura sighed, lowered her arms, and turned to her dancing partners. "Listen, guys, I'm sorry. Can you give me a rain check on this?"

"Sure, Sakura-san!" Lee said, forming his 'Gai-sensei' pose and smiling.

"The date was messed up from the start anyway." Neji said, smirking at Lee. "We'll have to do this again…_alone_…some other time."

Sakura smiled a little and kissed Neji's cheek before running off. "See ya, guys!"

The ANBU guards followed her, each running along on one side of her. "Ms. Haruno! Do you know where you're going?"

"The prison, right? The only reason Naruto would want me at this time of night would be if something happened to Sasuke…or his plants died." She stopped running and looked at both guards, who were also stopped in front of her. "Which is it?"

"The Uchiha."

"Alright, let's go."

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Sakura stood at Sasuke's cell door, elbow propped on the bars, watching what promised to be the most amusing thing she'd ever seen. Naruto was trying, unsuccessfully, to get Sasuke to retell his dream. Sasuke was, adamantly, avoiding the question by asking a series of his own. When they were twelve or thirteen, this technique would have totally worked, but now, at twenty-one, it was failing miserably.

"Sasuke, you woke up screaming! _Obviously_, it was a big deal, damn it!" Naruto yelled, grabbing Sasuke's arm and forcing the stoic man to turn his head. "Don't make me make Sakura give you a truth serum."

"Let me say this slowly, Uzumaki, so you actually can _understand _me. It. Was. _Nothing_!" Sasuke growled, ripping his arm from Naruto's tight grip.

"So," Sakura interrupted. "You pulled me from my date for _what_ exactly?"

Naruto rounded on her, his eyes narrowed down. "It's three in the morning and your date was still going on? Where were you two?"

Sakura sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "That is none of your business."

"There's a lot of that going around, apparently." Naruto mumbled. "Will you at least tell me who you were with?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "I'm not telling you so you can go beat him up!" Then, under her breath, she mumbled, "Not that you _could_."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and looked at her strangely. Then, with a roll of his own eyes, he smirked. "It's Lee, Naruto. She's dating Lee."

Sakura smirked, chuckling. "You're wrong." Then, with her hand on her hip, she smiled brightly. "But, he was there, too."

Both men were staring at her in shock, one showing it more than the other, but she'd long since trained herself to see it in the stoic one's eyes. It was there, if ever-so-slightly. Sakura was close to explaining, in great detail, that she was, in fact, _not_ easy. It was the look of shock on both of her ex-teammates faces that kept her from it.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto began with his face still in shock. "Are you…are you…are you dating _two_ men?"

"No!" Sakura shrieked, making even Sasuke flinch. She raised a fist to punch Naruto, but thought better of it. He is the Hokage after all. "Lee wasn't supposed to be there, actually. It's a long story."

"Well, I've got time!" Naruto said, his voice high. "Lots of time!"

Sakura met Sasuke's eyes briefly, who actually looked slightly amused. "Naruto, why am I not allowed to date?" When Naruto said nothing, just kind of stared at her, she continued. "Honestly, Naruto, I could see you being this protective if I was your sister or something, but I'm not!"

Naruto chuckled, a smile forming on his face as his eyes softened. "I consider you my sister, Sakura. This is my overprotective-brother act, get used to it. All of us, the new and old Team 7, became my family. Hell, the Konoha Eleven became my family." Sasuke was kind of standing stiffly, not really showing any emotion. Sakura was smiling softly and leaned back against the bars she was standing in front of. "Even if you can take care of yourself, Sakura, I'll still feel like I have to protect you. Who was the _other_ man on your date?"

"Neji."

"Hyuuga?" Sasuke asked, arching an eyebrow. "Why?"

Sakura had to smile, Sasuke was practically concerned and it was slightly amusing. "Because he's actually really sweet, Sasuke. He's not nearly the same egotistical jerk he once was, right Naruto?"

Naruto shrugged, thinking back on the last time he'd talked to him. "Yeah. Actually I remember commenting to you on how I thought he'd…he'd…on how he'd gotten _laid_!"

Sakura began giggling uncontrollably at Naruto's reaction. She'd never seen those blue eyes widen that wide before at his conclusion. She considered letting them just believe she was a whore, but her pride wouldn't let her. Instead, she just continued to giggle.

"You better _not_ have been the one who did the _laying_, Sakura!" Naruto exclaimed, shaking his fist at her. Sakura, however, was way too busy giggling to comment, she tried to wave him off, but to no avail.

Sasuke stood back against the wall, watching his two ex-teammates banter back and forth. It felt strange to be standing there watching them, as if he was still part of their family. Just being in their presence, undeterred and without any hidden ambition, was refreshing. Sasuke felt, without a better word for it, _human_, and he was actually enjoying it. As Sakura playfully smacked Naruto's head, Sasuke had a pang of guilt in his heart. He knew he'd never be like that with them, not ever again, but a part of him wanted to be, a bigger part than he'd admit was there.

Running his hands through his hair, and watching the banter play out with Naruto begging Sakura for full details on her and Neji's date, he let a thought float through his head. How was everything going to change once he was set free? Would he be able to revert back into the Sasuke they all expected him to be?

He ripped himself out of his internal tangent to focus on the headlock Sakura had just forced Naruto into. He vaguely remembered something Naruto was saying about Sakura acting like she was easy, and thus he expected Naruto _deserved_ the headlock, but in all fairness Sakura was being slightly _too_ rough.

He was the Hokage, after all.

--------------------------------------------------

Naruto decided, after walking though the _sixth_ apartment, that it would have been simpler to just move Sasuke back into the Uchiha district. But then, after reminding himself that he did _not_ want a Sasuke that was even _more_ mentally scarred than he already is, he kept looking for an apartment that was worthy of _the _Uchiha Sasuke.

Sakura had loved each and every one of the apartments, no matter what faults they had. Naruto went through this same form of torture when he was searching for his own new apartment a few years ago. After every viewing every apartment, just like she was doing today, Sakura would spend twenty minutes going over every positive aspect about the place. It actually annoyed Naruto to no end, but he kept his mouth shut. Just like with Tsunade, you don't tell women who could pummel you with one finger that you _don't_ agree with them.

"Why was that one wrong, Naruto?" She asked, clinging to his arm. "It had a big kitchen."

"Sasuke doesn't cook…much. Besides, he'd rather have something with a view." Sakura stopped walking, pulling Naruto to a stop with her.

"Oh." She said, watching him strangely. "You, um…you sure know a lot about what he'd want, Naruto."

"Huh?"

Sakura giggled. "Never mind." She grabbed his arm tighter and pulled him down the street toward the next apartment. "If he wants a view, I think this apartment will do just fine."

She led him to a building a little down the street from where Naruto currently lived. The view, Naruto could tell from standing on the street below, would be of the park. A beautiful panned view of the bridge they'd meet on as Team 7 and the trees as they changed colors and blew in the wind. All in all, this apartment was proving to be the best one so far. The smile on his face was enough for Sakura, who turned to the real estate agent, who was currently watching them like a hawk. It wasn't every day the Hokage himself chose apartments for a soon-to-be-released prisoner.

"I think he's going to choose this one."

"Oh, well, good!" The agent said, smiling, before whipping out her clipboard of paperwork. "I need these filled out whenever Hokage-sama has time."

Sakura nodded and, clipboard in hand, walked over to where Naruto was standing, still admiring the view.

"He'll like this, Sakura. He'll really like this." Naruto said whimsically. "I can't wait until he sees it."

"Three more days," Sakura said. "And then you can bring him here yourself."

"Yeah," Naruto breathed out. "Only three more days."

--------------------------------------------------

_He could feel the electricity against his skin as the blue lightening licked up his arm. His chidori was creating an eerie blue glow in the darkness around them. Sasuke had no idea where he was, or why, if it felt as if there was no oxygen, he could breathe so easily. The black of the darkness began to turn to a dull shade of gray and he, for the first time, began noticing his surroundings. It was a familiar place; a waterfall decorated on either side by a large statue, Uchiha Madara and the First Hokage. Now, after everything his brother had told him, he understood the irony of standing in that very place, why his and Naruto's battle which took place there was considered history repeating itself. One believing in only power, the other believing in only honesty and friendship. Sasuke could feel himself sighing, an action his body did on it's own accord, similar to the way he threw himself in front of Naruto during their fight with Haku all those years ago. _

_At the thought of the fight with Haku the scenery began to change. He was standing upon the head of Uchiha Madara, his fingers brought up in front of him as if pooling his chakra, and standing in front of him, barely an arms length away, was Naruto. The blonde, who was simply standing there, a hole the size of Sasuke's fist in his jacket, bleeding from the mouth, and his once blue eyes turned a deep shade of blood red. _

"_Why, Sasuke? I thought we were friends. We have a bond, don't we?"_

_Sasuke stumbled over his words as he tried to step toward Naruto. He tried to say something, anything, that he should have said back then, seven years ago, but couldn't find it. His feet wouldn't move; the stone that made up Uchiha Madara's hair began taking form as real hair. The black strands of silky black hair wrapped up Sasuke's legs, holding him in place. He didn't understand. Why would his dream keep him here? Why not allow him to go to Naruto, allow him to right a wrong he made all those years ago?_

_Naruto's eyes went blank for a moment, causing Sasuke to falter the chidori he was still holding in his hand. The sound of a thousand chirping birds was barely registering in his mind, but once the sound was gone the eerie silence was overwhelming. All the raven could hear was the sound of his labored breathing and beating heart. The blonde man in front of him turned around as someone jumped from the First's head onto Madara's. _

_The person was Sasuke. Fifteen year old Sasuke, who, as the twenty-one year old Sasuke well knew, would have done nearly anything to gain the Mengekyou Sharingan, was walking slowly toward Naruto. He reached behind his head and began to slowly unsheathe his katana. The long blade shone brightly in the dull gray around him as the teenaged Sasuke began to swing it toward Naruto's throat. And Naruto just stood there, perfectly still, as if he was waiting for it. _

_The next few moments happened so slowly, Sasuke felt like it was eternity. Naruto turned his head slowly, glancing over his shoulder at the older Sasuke behind him. _

"_We are best friends, Sasuke. You were my brother. And yet, we've always been so much more. Why would you kill me, Sasuke?" _

_The blade was descending upon his tanned neck, Sasuke was struggling against the black hair wrapped tightly around his ankles and calves, and Naruto turned around. The blonde's back now to the blade, Sasuke reached out to stop him, screaming something he couldn't remember. _

"_I love you, Sasuke. I always have."_

_As the blade reached Naruto's neck, and the first drops of blood hit the stone statue, Naruto's blood red eyes flashed cerulean blue. They were blank, although his face showed shock. _

_Sasuke screamed._

The guards, after five years of the same routine, were tired to running toward the last Uchiha's cell every time the man screamed in his sleep. But they did, each time, because it was there job, and it gave them exercise.

But this time was slightly different. This time, the Uchiha was having more trouble than usual catching his breath. This time, the Uchiha looked almost as if he was in a severe state of shock. This time the guard summoned a medical ninja who would actually show up. He summoned the Fifth Hokage.

Tsunade, in her commanding presence and emulating female masculinity, was glaring down the four ANBU guards, who were cowering in the corner. Figuratively, of course.

"He's been having these nightmares _every night this week_?" She asked, her voice demanding an answer that would satisfy her.

"Y-yes ma'am." One stammered, his mask, which resembled a raven, perched on top of his head. His eyes were cast down toward the floor and his hands were fidgeting in front of him.

"I've been the Chief of Staff at the hospital for the past two months, and you still haven't found it necessary to _tell me_?" She glared intently.

"They're just nightmares, they're nothing serious…" The moment that sentence left the guard's mouth, he regretted it. In one moment her palm was against his chest, in the next he was being pulled from the ground by two other guards. How he got there, he couldn't remember. All he did know was that he never wanted to take on a sannin ever again.

"Nightmares are serious!" She fumed, slamming her fist into the wall behind her, making a huge hole appear in the stone. "Especially when his nightmares nearly put the man in a state of shock. Those, you morons, are called night _terrors_!"

"Lady Tsunade, we are sorry." The first one to speak to her tried again, hoping to not be the next one imbedded in the floor. "Should we call the Hokage?"

Tsunade actually stopped to consider it for a moment before sighing to her self. "No, not until we have something to report. Let me talk to Uchiha _alone_."

Sasuke could hear the footsteps coming toward his cell and sighed. He knew that, whoever this was, they were going to annoy him. Sasuke would admit that he was shaken up after the dream, and he really wished he could stop the screaming he'd seem to do, but he was fine mentally. His breathing was back to normal, he wasn't shaking nearly as bad, and the cold sweat he woke up in had nearly stopped. So why did they still have to drag in the Fifth Hokage for this?

Tsunade, who was now standing at Sasuke's cell and watching him intently, was searching his face for any hidden emotions, hidden thoughts, but found nothing. She walked in the cell and sat down on the foot of his bed.

"Uchiha Sasuke, I need you to answer me truthfully to each question I ask you. Do you understand?" She waited until he looked at her, arched an eyebrow, and then sighed and nodded his head. "Alright. How long have you been having those nightmares?"

"For a while."

"I said truthfully, Uchiha." She said, a little more forcefully than she should have. Sasuke almost jumped, but sighed again.

"They started off and on when I was in Sound, but once I returned here they got worse."

Tsunade nodded. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Sasuke snorted.

"What are they about?" She asked, noticing the way Sasuke instantly stiffened. His gaze dropped to the ground and his shaking got noticeably worse. "Uchiha…"

"I can't remember them." He lied, and Tsunade knew it. Her eyes narrowed as she directed a scrutinizing gaze at him. He was trying desperately, Tsunade knew, _not_ to crack under her gaze. So far, it was working.

"You're lying, Sasuke, but that's okay. If you won't tell me, than maybe you'll tell Naruto." At that remark, Sasuke's head snapped back up and his eyes widened, if only for a second.

"That's not necessary." His voice was almost monotone as he spoke.

"Really?" She raised her eyebrow skeptically. "Your blood pressure is raised, your eyes are dilated, and you were breathing erratically, and that's all _besides_ the fact that you scream every time these dreams end, or screaming is your way out of the dreams. All in all, Uchiha, you have to start caring."

Sasuke's onyx eyes once again found a spot on the ground and stared. Tsunade just sighed.

"Have you bee having any shortness of breath, Sasuke? Nausea? Stomach aches or headaches?" As each symptom was listed off, Sasuke's eyes, what she could see of them, began looking slightly guilty, as if he'd be lying if he said anything other than yes. It was proof enough for Tsunade, who simply stood up and walked toward the cell. "I'll be telling Naruto of your dreams, giving him a full report, because I'm not lying to him. If you want to, that's your problem. Whatever he decides to do with you is your problem."

Sasuke's head snapped up again, glaring intently at the previous Hokage. "No."

"That's not an option. You either tell me what your dreams are about, or you let Naruto deal with you _his_ way. Like I said, 'no' is not an option."

Sasuke suddenly hated Tsunade with every fiber of his being. Soon enough, he'd be wishing he hated Naruto as well.

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Naruto was looking bewildered and glancing between Sakura and Tsunade. Never before, in all the years he'd known Tsunade as Sakura's _shishou_, her master, did he _ever_ hear Sakura talk to Tsunade like that. She'd, quite literally, just told the older woman off, and said older woman laughed.

She should laugh, she'd turned Sakura into a mini version of herself.

As Naruto struggled for words, his own master was chuckling to himself in the corner.

"This is priceless." Jiraiya said between bouts of laughter. This caused Naruto to add another person for his head to slowly pivot between.

"How much clearer do I have to say it, Haruno?" Tsunade asked, barely hiding a smirk. "This kid is not stable."

"Bullshit!" Sakura growled. "Sasuke was fine when I talked to him. Different, but fine. Whatever you're planning we won't go along with, right Naruto?"

Once again, Naruto just gaped between the girls. He stuttered something, which Sakura just took as the answer she wanted. Of course, Tsunade interpreted the same thing her own way.

"He knows that, with everything Sasuke went though, he needs a counselor."

"No, he doesn't!"

"Yes, he does!"

The banter went back and forth until Naruto was developing a headache. Finally, he silenced both girls.

"What about the Dreamwalker jutsu?" Both girls stopped bickering and just stared, open mouthed, at their Hokage. "Then he won't have to say anything and we can see if he's sane or not."

Jiraiya just beamed with pride. "My God, I trained that boy well."

"That jutsu is beyond dangerous, Naruto." Tsunade started. "You can't tell what a person's inner-workings are like, what kind of torment their mind portrays. Especially a mind like Sasuke's that has seen such horrible things. If you get hurt, or worse, in his mind, you could die."

Naruto, showing a maturity he'd only recently gained in such a degree, sat down behind his desk and placed his arms on the desk in front of him. "I've been through horrible things myself. Nothing in his mind can actually scare me, Tsunade, and I won't let anything hurt me."

"_You_ are not going, Naruto!" She said, slamming her palm on the desk.

"Yes, Tsunade," Naruto said, his voice even and calm. "I am."

* * *

I know this one took a while, but I'm taking my time writing this, double and triple checking for grammer and such. But, of course, I'm probably still not getting it all, lol. But at least I'm trying.

I really hope you are all enjoying my story so far. I know that there are a lot of loose ends and things I've touched but haven't elaborated. Everything will come in time, I promise. Lots of foreshadowing and not a lot of backshadowing...but things will be explained. _Believe it! _(lol)


	5. Chapter 4

**Inevitable  
Chapter Four**

Jiraiya had to chuckle, inwardly, of course, at his ex-student. The way Naruto's head was laying, quite awkwardly, on the crook of his arm, sleeping, mouth open and drooling was a sight to see; especially since he had been pouring over scroll after scroll all night long, in preparation for the Dreamwalker jutsu.

They both knew this jutsu was dangerous, and that if Sasuke's mind was as dangerous as they thought it'd be, possibly deadly. But, none of that seemed to matter to the young Hokage, as he continued to pour over those scrolls with only a hope of saving his best friend…just like he was fifteen all over again.

The jutsu itself was pretty simple, just a simple ninjutsu genjutsu combination that would allow the user to access the part of the brain that controls dreaming, mostly connected to the long-term memory regions but more so connected to the subjects subconscious. During the jutsu, the user's soul is transported into the subjects dream, their subconscious, and is actually able to witness said dreams in full. If the user is strong enough, as the scrolls depicted, they will even be able to manipulate the dreams and communicate with the subject, but every text they read deeply warned _against_ it.

That was the extent of what Naruto had dug up before he passed out of exhaustion. He had made his decision, he wasn't even giving Sasuke a choice in it, either; he was going to take part in the jutsu and there were no other options. He just knew that Sasuke would _love_ not having control over something, but Jiraiya suspected Naruto didn't really care.

Naruto was the Hokage, after all.

The white-haired sannin slowly slid the scroll out from under Naruto's arm and took it over to his seat to look over it. The scroll was explaining how the jutsu worked in more detail, but it wasn't anything they didn't already know. Naruto was over-preparing himself, which was just more proof of how important that raven-haired man was to him. Jiraiya knew all too well what it was like to fight for a best friend, having fought Orochimaru when he'd betrayed the village. He would have went to the end of the world to bring back his friend, but wasn't strong enough in the end. His fight was much like Naruto's; minus the obsessive-like-friendship the blonde seemed to have with the Uchiha. It was no secret the blonde felt something _more_ than just friendship when it came to Sasuke. Their bond, or whatever one chose to call it, ran deeper than any friendship ever did. If those two ever admitted it, Jiraiya was sure hell would freeze over. It would take something beyond their control to get either one of them to remotely hint at it, but this jutsu could help.

Jiraiya laid his head back and sighed, knowing that in the morning his ex-student would be more than ready to attempt the jutsu. He'd need a full nights rest for this, he just knew. When dealing with Uzumaki Naruto, nothing ever went as planned.

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Sasuke wouldn't meet anyone's eyes as he was transferred into the hospital room, again. Today was _supposed_ to be the day he'd be released, but he was screwed out of his freedom. And, from what the nurse's were saying, Naruto was the reason. Sasuke vowed that, when he saw the _Hokage_, he'd give that man a piece of his mind, rather he liked it or not.

He waited in the room for an hour before the door finally opened. He expected to see a mop of blonde hair appearing in the doorway, but instead it was silver.

"Yo, Sasuke." Kakashi said, his eye crinkling up in a smile. Sasuke just glared, intently. "Aw, c'mon, Sasuke. Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Sasuke's smooth voice asked, keeping his level and cool tone. "What do you want?"

Kakashi leaned himself against a wall, his arms crossed over his chest, and his normal bored look playing on his face. Anyone could see the blatant resemblance between himself and Sasuke, and most people have commented on it. As the jounin eyed his mini version, he sighed to himself. He knew that what Naruto tricked him into telling Sasuke would cause quite a stir. How Naruto got so clever, he'd never know.

"I'm here," Kakashi began, wishing he was anywhere but in that room at that moment, "to explain what procedure Naruto has you in here for."

"I can't wait to find out, Kakashi." Sasuke said, staring directly at the older man. It was that look, Kakashi knew, that usually pushed Naruto into doing something stupid just to get Sasuke to acknowledge him…at least it worked when they were thirteen.

Before continuing, Kakashi showed slight shock at the lack of an honorific to his name. But, in the end, he shrugged it off as it just being the new Sasuke and continued. "It's a Hokage-level jutsu for reading one's dreams. It's called the Dreamwalker."

Sasuke glared even more intently than before. Kakashi braced himself for the outburst he was sure was coming, uncrossing his arms and steadying himself to grab onto Sasuke if he decided to bolt out the door. The raven haired man took a deep breath and balled his hands into fists.

"_Uzumaki Naruto_!"

From out in the hallway, where he was currently re-going over the scrolls from the night before, Naruto heard his name being bellowed. He cringed as he looked up over his scroll to see Sasuke trying desperately to lunge at himself, and being barely held back by Kakashi. He heard Sakura and Jiraiya begin to snicker, but ignored them. Sasuke looked ready to explode. The ANBU guards were just standing there, not really sure if trying to help Kakashi would actually be considered _helping_,and Naruto was sure that, beneath their mask, they were snickering also.

Sasuke nearly broke free when he started to yell again. "I told you, _Uzumaki_, that I didn't give a _fuck_ if you were the _Hokage_, you were _not_ better than me…_ever_! What part of that did you _not_ understand?" Kakashi, who nearly lost his grip on the struggling Uchiha, managed to gain control again, but barely. Sasuke was a lot stronger than he was at thirteen, Kakashi realized. "You will _not_ go into my head!"

"Sasuke," Naruto began, keeping his voice cool and calm. He walked closer to Sasuke, making him even harder for Kakashi to control, until he was less than an arms length away. He leaned in close to Sasuke, mimicking the position Sasuke put himself and Naruto in when they were fifteen in Orochimaru's lair, and whispered in his ear. "You don't have a choice. I will enter your mind…on my _whim_."

He did it; the Uchiha was primed and ready to explode even more now. Before he could lunge at Naruto, Kakashi hit Sasuke in the back of the neck, making the Uchiha drop to his knees, unconscious.

"You just had to go and push him, Naruto?" Sakura asked, crossing her arms over her chest. She walked forward slightly from her position next to Jiraiya.

"What?" Naruto asked, turning around and faking an innocent look on his face. "He said it first."

"What are you, five?" Sakura asked, arching her eyebrow.

"Are you ready?" Tsunade rounded the corner, but stopped dead in her tracks, clipboard in hand, as she noticed Kakashi carrying Sasuke back into the room. "What happened to him?"

"You don't want to know." Sakura smirked. "Trust me."

--------------------------------------------------

"Asshole." Sasuke hissed as Naruto took his seat on the edge of the hospital bed. He didn't have his Hokage cloak on, nor his hat, just the normal black shirt, pants, and green flack jacket. He looked like a normal jounin, unless one knew better.

"Sasuke, you're being a baby." Naruto lectured. Since Sasuke woke back up he'd been calling Naruto one name after another in an attempt to goad the blonde into a fight. The only effect he'd had was annoying everyone else in the room, and giving them all a sense of what the two rivals would have been like had they exchanged personalities. It was giving them all a migraine.

"Bastard."

"God, Sasuke, shut up!" Naruto finally growled back. He'd been able to keep his cool for almost a half an hour of it, but he was still Naruto underneath it all and maturity could only go so far. "You're the bastard! I can't _believe_ that you won't respect your _Hokage_, you prick!"

"You will _never_ be _my_ _Hokage_!" Sasuke hissed back, making Sakura arch her eyebrow and snicker.

"He's right," She said, still snickering. "You are being a baby."

"What are you so afraid I'll see, Sasuke?" Naruto asked. Sasuke glared, but said nothing. "Fine, be stubborn and don't say anything. I'm used to your silent treatment."

"Okay, love birds," Jiraiya said, gaining a glare from both in question. "Let's get this party started." He walked over and sat the scroll down on the small roll-a-way table Tsunade prepared, spreading the scroll out so Naruto could see.

Sasuke was still glaring when Naruto positioned himself directly in front of him and began forming hand signs the scroll told him to. Then, after the hand signs, he placed his hands, palms flat, on each side of Sasuke's head and channeled chakra through his temples. Immediately, Sasuke's head began to lull back as he drifted off into a deep REM sleep.

Naruto could feel himself being pulled in, somewhere, and let the feeling take over, just like the scrolls said to do. His physical body slouched, his head lulling forward, and took on the presence of someone who passed out. His incorporeal form was being sucked into the sections of Sasuke's brain that created the dreams.

--------------------------------------------------

"Well…this is interesting…" Naruto breathed out looking around the place he was now standing in. If the Dreamwalker jutsu had worked, Naruto was now standing in Sasuke's subconscious mind. It looked like it worked. Naruto was definitely not here before he did the jutsu. And, Naruto noticed, Sasuke's mind was…_weird_.

The room was circular, with shelves that ran the course of the walls, floor to ceiling. The walls themselves were slate gray in color, looking to be a form of metal, as were the floors. The only colors on the walls were the Uchiha's symbolic fans that were scattered in an obscure pattern on the walls every so often. The rivets in the floors were made to look like Uchiha fans, also. Each shelf, white in color, was filled, neatly, with perfectly aligned boxes, which were mostly red. Every so often, the shelves were dotted with boxes that were black. Each box had a silver plate on the front with neatly engraved words.

Naruto walked toward one of the shelves and began reading the words engraved on the red boxes, each one being engraved with a different set of words to describe what was held inside. There was one titled _Mother_ and another titled _Father_, several other names of family members were lined beside these boxes. Then Naruto came to a black box, with the title _Itachi_ printed on the outside. Beside that black box was another that held the title _Uchiha Massacre_, a box that Naruto didn't dare look inside.

He continued around the shelf, skimming over the title of the boxes, until he came to one titled _Uzumaki Naruto_. Being a man of curiosity, Naruto slowly reached toward the box and lightly touched it, waiting for a trap to spring, but received nothing but a red box in his hands. Upon opening the box, he found there to be several manila folders, some thicker than others, and all of them with a description. Naruto skimmed through the folders, seeing everything from _Academy_ to _Accidental Kiss_ to _Team 7_ to _Land of Waves Mission_ listed. Naruto knew somewhere deep down that these were personal memories of Sasuke's, and that he probably shouldn't be nosing through them, but Naruto figured what Sasuke didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

Naruto picked up the folder that said _Accidental Kiss_ and set the box back on the shelf. He slowly opened the folder and was immediately thrust into a memory of his twelve year old self perched on the desk in front of Sasuke, leaning threateningly close to the older boy's face. He watched as the boy in front of him was talking, animatedly, about how excited he was to be there and, in a fit of joy, threw his hands out, hitting Naruto in the backside. Somewhere, in the back of Naruto's mind, he never remembered that kiss lasting quite that long, but when the moment finally ended he had to suppress a chuckle at how overdramatic they were. The kiss wasn't _that_ gross.

Closing the folder in his hands, he was ripped out of that memory. Picking up the box and replacing that folder, he fingered through the rest of them until he came upon a black folder, the words written in white on the front: _Dreams_. Curiosity made him pull out the black folder and place the red box back on the shelf. When he opened this folder, he found himself thrust into what he first considered to be another memory, but quickly realized he was mistaking.

He found himself watching Sasuke, who couldn't have been more than six years old, running down a body-ridden street. Behind him, quickly catching up, was a younger version of Itachi. As the small boy stopped, breathing heavily from fear and running, Itachi began to speak.

"_And then someday, when you have the same eyes as I do, come before me."_

He watched as Sasuke suddenly stood tall, his body changing to reach his thirteen year old height, and stared his brother down.

"_No matter what darkness lies ahead, I will pursue that path. No matter what, I will obtain power!"_

Thirteen year old Sasuke charged his brother, but before he could reach him the scenery changed.

They were now in the Valley of the End, standing on logs floating upright in the river below the waterfall, both he and Naruto panting heavily, their muscles sore and tired from fighting so intensely. The fight had been, arguably, more than any previous fight they'd had. They were each fighting for something deeply important to them, even if they didn't quite realize what it truly was then.

"_When I'm with you, I think if that's what having a brother is like."_

"_Why? Why did you come this far for me?"_

Naruto's breath hitched as he watched himself and Sasuke lunge at each other; one fighting for power and the other fighting to bring back his friend. This was a memory that even Naruto himself hid away, refusing to relive. He began shaking his head violently, demanding the dream stop. It was too much, losing Sasuke all over again, and he couldn't take it, couldn't relive it like he'd done so many times in his own dreams.

When his eyes re-opened, Sasuke was standing in front of him, staring over the edge of a crater, a crater he'd made. They were back at Orochimaru's hideout, and they were both fifteen. Everything looked the same, except for one major difference, he and Sasuke were alone. There was no Sai, no Sakura, no Captain Yamato, just he and Sasuke staring each other down.

"_Why didn't you kill me then?"_

"_I simply left you alive because I felt like it…on my whim…"_

Sasuke was so quick Naruto's eyes barely caught him jumping down. He watched as Sasuke put his arm around the other Naruto and that Naruto's body went rigid, awaiting Sasuke's words and actions.

"_So this time, on my whim, you will lose your life."_

"_Like someone who couldn't even save his friend could become Hokage. Isn't that right Sasuke?"_

The blade Sasuke had drawn shimmered in the sunlight making it look more deadly than it already had. As Sasuke slowly drew it down, with enough force to cut through Naruto's stomach in one lunge, Naruto yelled. It didn't do any good, Sasuke was still preparing to slice Naruto clear through, but he continued to yell and yell until his voice cracked. There was no one there this time to catch the blade, no Sai ink-clone, nothing between Naruto and a very sharp katana blade.

The katana was shimmering barely an inch away from Naruto's orange and black clad back when the scenery changed again. There was no katana this time, just a cement room, with barely any light, and dripping walls. Sasuke was sitting on the ground, knees to his chest, staring ahead. Sasuke's eyes were focused entirely on one thing in front of him, his hands clenched into fists, his expression a mixture of repulsion, anger and confusion. Following Sasuke line of sight, Naruto saw Orochimaru sauntering himself between Itachi and himself, who were staring blankly ahead. The snake-like man was teasing, taunting, Sasuke with every move and every word. He motioned toward both of the men standing before Sasuke and smirked evilly.

"_Do you favor the hatred or the – dare I say it? – love?"_

The word made Naruto's breath hitch again. That was the second time that word had come up, why would Sasuke dream of that? Orochimaru was still teasing Sasuke, gauging his reaction to his tongue flicking against Itachi's skin. Sasuke barely made a motion, just glared intently, so the older man decided to try it on the other man, the other Naruto. Naruto felt his knees grow weak as he watched Sasuke lunge himself at Orochimaru, who was attempting to lick the other Naruto's cheek. It wasn't right, Orochimaru couldn't have been right. _Love?_ But with the ferocity Sasuke had just attacked the old man, who wasn't really doing anything deserving of a chidori through the chest at that moment, shook Naruto to his core.

It wasn't until he realized the chidori hit more than it was aiming for that Naruto pulled himself from his thought-based tangent. Just seeing it happen to his other self gave him the sensation of it really happening. The chidori was thrust through the other Naruto's chest and Sasuke was nearly freaking himself out over it, whispering "I'm sorry" over and over again as he slowly pulled his arm back out. What shook Naruto was the purely blank expression the dream made him have, as if he didn't feel anything. Blood was pouring down Sasuke's arm as it was slowly released from the hole it created.

"_You were my best friend, Sasuke. My most important person. I…Sasuke…I…"_

Just as Naruto began watching his self dissolve, he saw the scenery begin changing again.

"_Why, Sasuke? I thought we were friends. We have a bond, don't we?"_

Naruto whipped his head around, seeing himself standing on the head of Uchiha Madara at the Valley of the End. He was facing Sasuke, who was trying desperately to step forward, but not being able to. Watching as the stone head of hair began turning real, he saw why Sasuke couldn't move, the hair was holding him in place. Naruto tried to step forward, to help his friend, but couldn't move either. Apparently the jutsu wouldn't let him interfere.

He could feel Sasuke's frustration and fear coursing through him, struggling to set himself free and struggling for words. Neither man could do anything as another Sasuke appeared on top of the head, walking slowly toward the other Naruto, who simply stood there, as if waiting for what was to come.

"_We were best friends, Sasuke. You were my brother. And yet, we've always been so much more. Why would you kill me, Sasuke?"_

Naruto reached forward, trying to grab the now shaking Sasuke, who was frantically trying to set himself free. The blade the other Sasuke had sparked a newfound determination in the real Sasuke, but it was all futile, nothing was helping him set free from the hair wrapped around his ankles and calves.

"_I love you, Sasuke. I always have."_

Naruto froze. _Love?_ There it was again, that four-letter word that was making Sasuke resist any barrier. The raven haired man was struggling again against the restraints, trying to grab at the blonde before the other Sasuke could deliver the final blow. The other Naruto was simply standing there, waiting for the moment to come. Why was Sasuke making Naruto say that? Why would Sasuke want to hear that Naruto _loved_ him? It made no sense, unless Sasuke felt the same way. Glancing to Sasuke for a moment, Naruto saw Sasuke's eyes grow wide and his fists clench at his sides.

"I love you too, Naruto!" Sasuke screamed, struggling so hard he fell to his knees. The other Naruto was dead and Sasuke threw his head back, screaming again.

Naruto watched as the world around him turned pitch black, throwing him back into Sasuke's subconscious, the circular room with the black and red boxes aligned neatly.

Looking at his hands, he realized he was still holding the black folder and immediately reached for the red _Uzumaki Naruto_ box on the shelf, quickly stuffing the folder inside. He made an attempt to close the box, but found himself thumbing through the folders again, searching for any folder that could help him with his newest question: _How does Sasuke really feel about me?_

As he thumbed through the folders, skimming over ones that had nothing to do with emotions and repressed feelings, he found himself wondering if Sasuke knew he was in there, nosing around all of his memories. He'd hoped that Sasuke trusted him enough to know he wouldn't open anything _too_ personal, only the memories that were about him.

He had a moment of wanting to jump for joy when he'd found a folder that could help him out: _Repressed emotions_.

"Close enough." Naruto said, a small smirk playing on his face. They had to have _something_ to do with him if they were in _his _box, right?

He pulled the folder out and pushed the box back on the shelf haphazardly. He took the folder in both hands, took a deep breath, and opened it slowly. What appeared before him was something he didn't expect. Hundreds of floating pictures, various sizes, hovered in a circle around him. Each picture contained a frozen scene of a memory, most of which Naruto remembered. From their first words to each other at age six to just a few minutes before Naruto had performed the Dreamwalker jutsu and everything in between.

Taking particular interest in a picture he couldn't remember, Naruto walked closer to it, trying to get a better look. It was a picture of him standing on a bridge, not any older than thirteen, staring at the small creek below him. Sasuke was standing in between a few trees, half of his body hid, as if lurking and watching Naruto from afar. He reached his fingertips out, brushing them over the picture lightly, when he felt a now familiar tug behind his navel, pulling him into the picture.

He found himself standing beside Sasuke in the forest, watching as the boy was actually _trying_ to hide himself. Sasuke's voice was carrying through the air, but his mouth wasn't moving.

_He's just standing there…what's he waiting for?_

Naruto looked down at Sasuke and smirked, he was reading the young boy's thoughts.

_He's way too early to be waiting for Kakashi, isn't he?_

Finally the boy pushed himself out of the trees and walked, slowly, to where the younger Naruto was standing. The older Naruto followed him, keeping a close distance to the young Uchiha.

"Oi, Sasuke-teme!" He heard himself say, louder than he should have. The older Naruto winced, realizing just how loud his younger self had been. Was he really _that_ starved for attention? "You're early, aren't ya?"

"You're the early one, dobe." _Why are you so damn early, Naruto?_

"Whatever, just got going sooner, that's all."

It was then that Naruto remembered when this was. It was a little after the Land of Waves mission, but before the chuunin exams, just some random mission that the Third assigned them. Of all the memories they'd shared, why was this one so special?

"So, Sasuke-teme, how late do you think Kakashi-sensei will be today?"

_He's always late._ "Who cares, he's always late." _The sun keeps catching his hair, why does it shine like that?_

"Well, excuse me for trying to have a _normal_ conversation with you, bastard." The younger Naruto pouted, sticking his bottom lips out and making it wibble slightly.

_Damn…_ "Then ask me about something interesting." _I hate it when you pout. I can't stop looking at you when you do that._

Sakura came running toward the bridge, looking slightly angry for some reason, when the memory began to fade.

Naruto once again found himself surrounded by frozen scenes of memories and began looking around for another one he'd remember. He'd nearly spun in a complete circle when he found one from a particularly difficult mission, if only because Naruto remembered having one particularly horrible nightmare that night. He reached out to touch that one, and felt himself being immediately pulled in.

Naruto was standing in a tent, the top of his head sticking out through the fabric. Naruto looked up, seeing that he was incorporeal in these memories and his body resembled more of a spirit than a solid human.

_Why is he moving? It's not his turn to take watch yet, is it?_

Looking down, he saw that Sasuke and his younger form were sharing a tent. He watched himself toss and turn, flopping his arms around and moaning. Sasuke's eyes were barely open all the way as he directed his gaze at the boy in the sleeping bag beside him, tossing around violently.

_What is wrong with you? Are you dreaming?_

"Please…no…don't…"

_A nightmare…he's having a nightmare._

Sasuke sat up and freed his arms of the sleeping bag. He reached over and shook the younger Naruto, frowning when he didn't wake him up.

"Dobe." Sasuke said, his voice hoarse from sleep. _It must be a bad one._ "Dobe." He shook him again, but nothing changed, the boy still tossed and flailed his arms around, still moaning.

Sasuke sat up on his knees, using both hands to shake the thrashing blonde. "Naruto." Sasuke said more firmly. "C'mon, Naruto, wake up."

"Please…don't hurt me…I'm sorry…" Naruto moaned, furrowing his brow together and placing his arms in front of him defensively. "I can't…please don't…" He nearly looked like he was going to cry.

Sasuke took a deep breath before grabbing Naruto's arms and holding them firmly against the ground, positioning himself so he was leaning over the blonde. "Naruto."

The blonde stopped thrashing and whimpered. "I'm sorry…"

_Who is hurting you, Naruto?_ "Wake up, dobe." _I can't see you do this much more._

The elder Naruto hunkered down on his heels, watching the scene closely. There was a reason, he remembered, that the dream suddenly stopped. It was replaced by a happier dream of him and his team, but he couldn't figure out why it went away. He watched as Sasuke leaned a little closer. _They can't hurt you, Naruto…not now…_

Naruto's breath hitched in his throat as Sasuke pressed his lips against the younger Naruto's forehead, making the whimpering stop immediately.

_That's better._ Sasuke smirked slightly before climbing off the blonde and lying back down in his own bag, falling asleep almost immediately with a self-satisfied look on his face. The memory slowly faded to black again.

For a moment, Naruto was too shocked to move. He just stood there, surrounded by images of, what he was sure were, more scenes with Sasuke practically confessing right in front of him, or at least in his thoughts. How could this have been going on and he never realized it? Had Sasuke been hiding it that well all these years?

He stared carefully at each frozen memory, trying desperately to remember if Sasuke was acting weird in any of them. It was hard to tell, with Sasuke's constantly blank or bored expression he wore, but Naruto kept forcing his brain to think. If he really did love Naruto, which the blonde was secretly hoping _was_ true, he'd had to have shown it at some point.

Then the proverbial light bulb turned on above Naruto's head.

_No, I came back for…for something else…_

He began frantically searching for the memory of Naruto visiting Sasuke in prison, just after he was incarcerated. He found it behind a memory of the chuunin exams, which he kept in his head to check out later, and reached for it.

The scenery changed to match Konoha's maximum security prison, Naruto was now standing in front of cell number seventy-five. In front of him was himself in his ANBU uniform, mask tied to his side, hands on the bars. Tsunade let him inside, even de-chakra-encoded the bars for him, all so he could say good-bye to his best friend for almost five years.

"Sasuke, look at me!" He heard himself growl out, shaking the bars in his frustration. "It's been nearly six months, Sasuke! We thought you were _dead_, that Itachi killed you along with himself, and then you show up here?"

"Itachi is dead by my hand, Naruto, no one else's." _I had to kill him. I'm an avenger._

"That's all well and good, Sasuke, but why won't you look me in the eye?"

_Because I don't know what I'll do._

"I'm an ANBU now, Sasuke; I can break you out of here."

_Tempting…but this is my destiny, my consequence. _"No, I'll pay my debt to Konoha in full."

"You don't deserve this, Sasuke! Look at me!" The force that Naruto used in his voice forced Sasuke to turn around. "You're my best friend. Sasuke…let me help you."

"No." _You're stronger now, Naruto. A lot stronger._ "I knew what to expect when I came back." _I just didn't think it'd be this harsh…_

"Why did you come back, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, suddenly changing his tone.

_I had to see you._ "My revenge is done."

"Is that the only reason?" Naruto was shifting in his stance, his ANBU mask swaying with him.

_No…I came back to see you._ "No, I came back for…" _For you…_ "For something else…"

The real Naruto nearly gasped his mouth gaping open. _He…he came back for me?_

The memory ended, the circle of frozen memories came back in his view, and Naruto was clutching his chest. Sasuke did love him, or at least felt something deep down for him. Smiling inwardly, he remembered the day he'd realized his feeling for the bastard and how he'd tried for years to hide them. Unsuccessfully, he might add, as Sakura caught on at least a month later.

There was a voice in the back of his head, his maturity as Hokage, screaming at him. It was screaming that he should be searching for Sasuke's sanity, or lack thereof, and a way to prove it; screaming that he was using this jutsu for his own personal gain. It was all true, every single word, but the current Naruto couldn't care less. Of all the people in the world, of all the friends he'd had and lives he'd influenced, why was Sasuke the one to inspire this many emotions, this wide range of feelings, just by one sentence, one thought?

_No…I came back to see you._

If he'd said that all those years ago, Naruto would have done everything in his power to break the teen free. Even if he was still technically injured from the Great War, the war against the Akatsuki, he would have fought like hell with everything he had, even using _that_ power, to bring the only man he'd ever cared that deeply for free. And, in the end, he would have been proud of himself for trying, for attempting to prove it all, for showing his love the only way he knew how. He'd fight.

There was still a way, Naruto knew, a way to get Sasuke to see it all, to see the light, so to speak. To see that, maybe, Sasuke could be happy with just Naruto…and it was the young Hokage's new goal. But first, he had to get Sasuke free, and to do that, he'd have to prove Sasuke wasn't insane. He'd have to prove Sasuke wasn't evil.

And he'd have to stop looking through Sasuke's memories for his own personal gain; as hard as that would be…

Closing the folder, he brought himself back into the room of memories and, after putting both the folder and the box back where he got them, he set off to find something to prove Sasuke's innocence. Naruto spun around in circles, trying to decide where to start in a huge circle filled to the brim with perfectly aligned boxes, Naruto decided it would be slightly harder to do than he previously expected.

* * *

Whew! Long wait _and_ long chapter. Hope you all enjoyed it! Review..._puh-puh-please_?


	6. Chapter 5

**Inevitable  
Chapter Five**

Sakura was getting nervous, or a word that meant _beyond_ nervous. She read the scrolls, the same as Naruto and Jiraiya, and knew that staying inside the mind wasn't only up to the user, the subject, if powerful enough, could keep them trapped there as well. And, right now, Naruto had been inside of Sasuke's mind for nearly three hours, two and a half hours too long in Sakura's mind.

Glancing at Kakashi, and then Tsunade, she saw a very familiar expression on their faces. They were nervous, too.

Tsunade let out a sigh and let her head fall back against the hall, wincing when it hit a little too hard. Kakashi, who was sitting on the windowsill, reading but yet _not_ reading his Icha Icha book, looked up to ask if she was okay. She groaned, and Kakashi took that as a yes.

Jiraiya was digging through the bag at his side, which contained most of the scrolls Naruto had been pouring over in preparation for this jutsu, and pulled out a bound stack of papers. Tsunade, briefly, rolled her head to the side to see what Jiraiya had just pulled out. When she skimmed the title, she snorted and placed her head in its previous position.

The toad-sannin threw her a glare before tossing the bound stack of papers in Kakashi's direction. The jounin caught it with ease, looking at it with mild amusement before his eye caught the title.

"The…the…rough draft…the…the…"

"Do I need to kick start you?" Sakura gritted, sending a glare in Kakashi's general direction. She was nervous, irritable, and wholly tired of this entire situation. And Kakashi _fangirling_ over the rough draft for the newest Icha Icha installment wasn't something she needed to deal with. "We get it, it's a new porn for you to ogle and read when you _should_ be paying attention to the conversation or, hell, I don't know…_being on time_!"

Kakashi stared, incredulously, at Sakura, who bit back a smirk. She didn't mean to yell at him _quite_ that harshly, but his open-mouthed expression (which she could tell even _under _his mask) was pretty funny.

"Well," Jiraiya said, his expression just as disbelieving as Kakashi, "you taught her well, Tsunade."

"History repeats itself." Tsunade said, raising her head to glance at Naruto and Sasuke before letting it rest against the wall once more. "I hate waiting."

"You have no patience." Jiraiya said. Kakashi had himself immersed in his Icha Icha Voyage rough draft, making Jiraiya have a permanent smirk on his face. Tsunade, who had noticed this, just snorted and looked away.

"_Voyage_, huh? What sparked that name?" Sakura asked, peeking a look at the rough draft that she, only moments before, criticized.

"My mandatory vacation our _Hokage_ forced me into." The sannin had an edge of resentment in the tone he used. The rest of the group hid a snicker. Naruto told Jiraiya, a month after being made an ANBU, that he was far too old to be bouncing back quickly after a huge war. He informed Jiraiya that he was sending the old man on a vacation, a vacation that would include lots of things to keep him happy and _absolutely no fighting or dangerous Akatsuki research_. Although Jiraiya refused for quite a while, Naruto eventually outsmarted the sannin, making said old man fume quite a lot.

"It was a cruise on a ship?" Sakura asked, arching her eyebrow. That detail Naruto left out.

"Yeah," Jiraiya sounded unimpressed. "The brat even paid for it himself. Guess he really did care about my health…"

Jiraiya trailed off at the sound of Naruto groaning, to which everyone, even Kakashi, looked over at. When no other sound was made, the group simply went back to talking or reading or waiting.

Honestly, what else could they do?

--------------------------------------------------

Naruto swore, loudly, as he dropped the box in his hand. It landed, quite hard, on his foot. Smacking himself in the head for being such a klutz, Naruto groaned and bent over to pick up the box. Written on the silver plate was the word _Sketches_. Naruto scratched his head and shrugged, opening the box. The folders inside seemed to separate the sketches into categories; _dreams_, _scenery_, _ninja tools_, _Uzumaki Naruto_…

For what had to be the millionth time in that jutsu, Naruto froze. Staring at the folder, he debated, honestly, rather to look at it. The idea that Sasuke could possibly be attracted to him, possibly _love_ him, was still so new. Skipping over his own folder, he pulled out the one that read _dreams_ and opened it instead.

Similar to before, Naruto was immersed in a room where various images hung in front of him, suspended in mid-air. He took his time looking over each and every one, noticing that a few of them resembled the dreams he'd walked through before. The scene of him and Sasuke at Orochimaru's lair, a few of him and Sasuke at the Valley of the End, and one of Sasuke and Itachi in what must have been the Uchiha District. Until that moment, Naruto didn't know Sasuke could draw. Surprisingly, he was really good at it.

Curiosity getting the better of him, Naruto closed that folder and pulled his own folder out of the red box. Another room of hovering images surrounded him, and these ones were far more intricate. Each one was a detailed portrait of Naruto doing various things and positioned in various ways. The blonde smiled to himself, knowing that most of these were drawn while Sasuke was in Sound. It was a comforting thought that his friend thought about him, remembered him, enough to draw these accurate portraits. He had turned, almost, a full circle when he saw one that caught his eye. It was Naruto, sure, but he was lying on a bed, face down, and naked. His head was turned to the side and his eyes were closed, as if sleeping. His crossed arms pillowed his head. Naruto's eyebrow rose slightly before shutting the folder and putting the box back on the shelf. Honestly, he didn't know what to think of that.

Naruto sighed running his tanned fingers though his hair. Searching for Sasuke's sanity and innocence was a lot more difficult than previously expected. There wasn't a box anywhere that said _My Sanity Is Here!_ Naruto really didn't know where to turn, now. He'd been though nearly the entire room, only stopping for a look at a box that seemed promising, or one he couldn't pass up. It was all so frustrating and Naruto was beginning to feel exhausted with both the strain of looking around for an evasive clue and keeping the jutsu up.

Deciding to take a break, Naruto sat down and leaned against a shelf, letting his head fall back on the cool shelves. There had to be a way, a way to know what really went through his head before leaving. Or, hell, even what went through his mind when he was there. And, it would have been nice to know what really happened to Itachi, if Sasuke really did kill him himself or if it was just a ploy to show he was good. The only problem was, without truly invading Sasuke's privacy and opening a _black_ box, there was no way to see them. Every memory focusing on Sound, Orochimaru, and Itachi were black-boxed, meaning they were ultimately private and no one, not even Naruto, would be possibly allowed in there.

And, worse, Naruto feared they were booby-trapped. He wouldn't put it past Sasuke to safeguard his mind against intruders, especially intruders attempting to see what he'd truly went through at Sound or with Itachi. And, with the ferocity of Sasuke, the booby-traps could be horrific and extremely dangerous. He'd promised Tsunade he wouldn't let himself get hurt, but he was coming to the end of safe boxes to go through.

"Sorry Granny," Naruto sighed. "I'm gonna have'ta brave it."

He stood up and took a deep breath before walking over to the first black box he'd seen, _Uchiha Itachi_, and reached, very slowly, for it. The second his fingers touched it he knew that he'd triggered a trap.

The box began to stick to his fingertips, a black rubbery substance that seemed to have a life of its own. Although it started at his fingertips, the substance slowly began crawling up his arm. He tried to shake it off; afraid of what touching it with the other hand would do, but to no avail. There was nothing in those many scrolls about this, Naruto thought disdainfully as he began furiously shaking his arm. The substance was now at his elbow, making Naruto panic. He placed his other hand over the substance and pushed out a steady stream of chakra; careful to keep it hovered over the rubbery black squirming up his arm. Slowly it began to recede, making Naruto sigh with relief. When the substance retracted from his arm in its entirety, and the box looked like it had before with no leaking black color, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief again. Gathering himself back up, he reached toward the box again, this time keeping the chakra streaming out. As the substance tried to grab him, it was instantly repelled, allowing Naruto to grab the box and quickly open it. Even the folders inside were black, but they didn't reach out to attack him. Keeping this as a good sign in his eyes, Naruto grabbed all the folders and stepped back away from the box. He'd close it later but right now he just needed the memories.

He laid the folders out on the ground in front of him, kneeling down and keeping a fair distance from the possessed box. The folders had bold white lettering that covered everything from their childhood to Itachi helping Sasuke practice to the Massacre and to the _Final Battle_, the folder Naruto was most interested in.

The _Final Battle_ folder was, apparently, the memory Sasuke most wanted to keep secret. Upon attempting to open it, a snake crawled out and slithered up his arm. The snake was pure black, the only other color being the pink tongue and ivory white fangs. They were dripping with a purple colored liquid Naruto took to be venom and quickly threw the snake off of him. Instantly it recoiled and thrust itself off the floor, directly at Naruto's face. Grabbing a kunai out of his pouch, he quickly pinned its abdomen to the floor, making it hiss and snap it's fangs at him. Naruto sighed and, with another kunai, cut the snake's head off. It whipped its body around for a few seconds before finally becoming still. Returning to the folder, Naruto attempted to open it slowly and managed to become immersed in the memory.

_I see you dead!_

Naruto stood next to the wall, the room filled to the brim with tension and murderous intent, most of it emulating off of Sasuke. Sasuke was standing across the room from a large stone chair, which Itachi was sitting on. Within a flash, Itachi was standing beside Sasuke, facing the opposite direction as his younger brother, and preparing to fight.

_Let's see how good your eyesight is._

Naruto was, actually, quite surprised to see that their final battle was spent, mostly equal, with Sasuke in the lead. And, it was fought for the bigger part completely in a genjutsu in a genjutsu. Being in Sasuke's memory of the fight, Naruto could see every twist and turn, Sasuke's thought-based strategy decisions, and the way that he overcame Itachi's Tsukyomi. Thoroughly pleased, Naruto settled himself in to watch the fight, leaning himself against the wall and crossing his arms. Watching Sasuke fight was always something Naruto secretly enjoyed. It was the fluidity and grace Sasuke possessed as he moved, almost as if his body was made for the fight. Even his mind, with whirling thoughts and quick strategy-change decisions, was a grace all its own. Itachi wasn't much different in the way his body moved, if he was in his prime, Naruto decided. But the overwhelming threat of becoming permanently blind was beginning to affect the eldest Uchiha brother and his movements became safer, more predictable. There were a million openings, all of which Sasuke seemed to be taking advantage of.

_I said 'This is the end!' you murderous traitorous _fucker

Naruto smirked, even himself thinking this was the end. He was proven wrong, just another genjutsu inside of a genjutsu. It was making Naruto's head spin, even as Hokage, Naruto still wasn't good at that particular ninja skill. This entire fight was nearly over his head as he sat back and attempted to enjoy the show.

…_But I can't help noticing, you still don't have the same eyes as me, Sasuke._

There was a moment, Naruto noticed, that Sasuke almost froze. His thoughts spun through his head almost too fast for Naruto to understand them. He managed to catch pieces of the whirlwind of thoughts:

_The Mengekyou Sharingan…_

…_must kill your best friend…_

…_Uzumaki Naruto…_

…_when you've obtained the same eyes as I have, come before me again…_

_Valley of the End…need the power…on my whim…_

Naruto was barely keeping up, but he had a vague idea of where Sasuke was going. Sasuke couldn't kill Naruto, meaning he'd never be able to obtain the ultimate power. Yet somehow, without the Mengekyou at all, Sasuke still won the fight? Pushing himself off the wall, Naruto walked a little closer to the brothers, still staying a safe distance. The fight was becoming intense, and yet was still nothing more than a genjutsu inside of another genjutsu. The mind games didn't stop until Itachi began telling the epic story of Uchiha Madara and his brother, the differences were scarce between them and the current Uchiha brothers.

_He plucked both eyes from his younger brother's head._

Naruto's head jerked.

_You Sasuke! You will become my new light!_

Sasuke's eyes widened. _He's insane!_

The genjutsu ended, leaving Sasuke and Itachi standing in the stone room again, Itachi not looking nearly as crazy as a moment ago.

_I take it you saw my true self?_

Naruto watched Sasuke's face closely, looking for anything hidden beneath his blank expression. For witnessing something of that magnitude, he was without thoughts. The only thing flashing through his mind was the urge to suppress a snort at Itachi's obvious question.

_It all ends here._

With shaking hands and a pounding heart, the final battle began. It wasn't soon before Naruto realized Sasuke wasn't lying.

--------------------------------------------------

Shizune wasn't without skills, Gai acknowledged. Even without the title of Assistant to the Hokage, she was still quite a force within the Hokage office. Gai wasn't sure when it happened, or if it even happened at all and wasn't a horrible nightmare, but he was sure that Lee wasn't just whimpering at nothing.

"Now, Lee…what can I help you with?" Shizune asked, her tone more threatening then that question asked for in any circumstance.

For a moment Lee looked at his mentor, hoping for a reprieve, but received nothing but a blank stare. Apparently even the Great Maito Gai was afraid of Tsunade's apprentice. With a barely withheld whimper, he tried to summon all his courage and as his question again. "Is…is the Ho-Hokage in, Shizune-sama?"

The dark haired woman bit back a smirk at Lee's use of "-sama", instead settling on a mocking frown. "Does he look like he's in, Lee?"

"N-No, ma'am…" Again, Lee glanced at Gai, who simply stared at Shizune with wide eyes.

"He's busy at the moment, try back tomorrow." Shizune snapped at Lee, refusing to back down from this. After all, she'd be cleaning it, not them. "And the next time you want to see Lord Hokage, _do not_ bust the damn door down, understand?"

Lee shook his head at a ferocious pace; Shizune nearly thought it'd fly off, and quickly exited the room. Gai remained, however, still staring wide-eyed at Shizune. She returned his stare for as long as she could before finally snapping at him, too.

"_What_?"

"I…I think I love you…"

Shizune snorted and pointed toward the door. "If you love me so much, then fix the door _your_ self-appointed apprentice broke down."

"Ye-yes, my you-"

"Say the word 'youthful' and I'll rip your damn head off, understand?" Shizune interrupted with a threat she intended, fully, on keeping.

"Ye-yes, ma'am!" Gai gave her his patented thumbs-up before rushing toward his newly appointed job.

Shizune just sighed. Today was going to be a _long, long_ day.

--------------------------------------------------

Naruto closed the folder and took a deep breath. That was, without a doubt, the most intense and draining fight he'd ever seen. It made him wonder what Sasuke had been like, if he'd still been that injured, when he'd came back to Konoha. Still cradling the folder in his hands, he stared down at the remaining black folders spread out on the cold floor. If Naruto had ever wondered why Sasuke felt he _needed_ his revenge, he didn't anymore. Itachi was, by far, the most sadistic bastard he'd ever meant, and that was saying something. The Akatsuki, after all, hunted Naruto since he was thirteen. And that group was full of sadistic assholes.

With a heavy heart, for a different set of reasons than ever before, Naruto skimmed his gaze over the remaining folders again. The first three times he'd done it, he hadn't really read them at all. This time one jumped out at him. _Returning Home._

The memory he was immersed in this time was completely different than any other, mainly because it wasn't really a memory at all. He was standing next to Sasuke at the Valley of the End, except Sasuke was sixteen and almost smiling. The thoughts Sasuke were having seemed broken and garbled, but Naruto could understand them all.

Finally…home…Kono-…with Naruto… 

…_remember me? Could he forget me?_

_Itachi is gone…new start…my revenge…over…I'm home…_

…_love? …happy with me? …hate me?_

_Can Naruto ever forgive me? …tried to kill him…need to start over…_

Naruto smiled, if only because he knew he'd found the answer to every question he'd had.

I've missed Konoha…friends…so much…Naruto… 

Sasuke wasn't evil. Sasuke was innocent. And all the council needed was the _Hokage's_ reassurance that the last remaining Uchiha wouldn't hurt another Leaf shinobi again. Putting everything they'd been though together aside, Naruto knew he could trust Sasuke. And that's all he needed to know to let Sasuke free.

--------------------------------------------------

"So, the lady – very pretty, I might add – practically _gave_ Naruto her number – practically shoved it in his _face_ – and he didn't care." Jiraiya waved his arm around, emphasizing his point. "What kind of teenager doesn't care about getting some hot woman's number?"

Sakura and Tsunade sighed. Story Hour was getting annoying; especially when Jiraiya had resorted to the tale of every failed pick-up line he'd ever tried, accompanied by the full six-page adaptation of how it happened…in grave detail.

And if only because it was like a sneek-peek at the _next_ Icha Icha installment, Kakashi listened intently, visible eye fixed on visible eye. Sakura noticed, with a choked laugh, that those two perverts were quite a pair. It really wasn't a wonder that Naruto turned out the way he did.

In answer to Jiraiya's question, Kakashi shrugged and looked to Sakura for support. Sakura, who was beginning to detest Jiraiya's storytelling skills, sighed again.

"Perhaps a teenager who wasn't interested in women, Jiraiya."

She let the sentence hang in the air, allowing both perverts to catch on, before they had two very diverse reactions. One nodded slightly and sat back against the window again, the other let his jaw drop to the floor and let out a groan of disbelief.

"No, not my apprentice, I won't hear of it." Jiraiya hugged himself with his arm and shook his head vigorously. "Not with everything I've taught him!"

"Maybe that's the problem, Jiraiya." Tsunade offered, giving Sakura a sideward smirk. "Too much of something is a sure way of making you _not_ desire it anymore."

"When he gets out of there, I'm asking him. And I'm proving you all wrong!" Jiraiya stood up, pointing his finger in Tsunade's face.

"Keep it up and I'll rip off _that_ arm, too." Tsunade warned, never taking her head from its resting position leaned against the wall.

It was the groan from Naruto that pulled all of them out of their argument, if only a one-sided argument, to stare intently at the two men on the bed. Naruto's arms dropped to his sides, resting there limply, as his and Sasuke's eyes opened. For a second they sat there, staring at each other, until finally Sasuke looked away. Naruto blinked, smirked to himself, and stood up. He wobbled slightly, the effects of sustaining the jutsu for that long being draining on even _his_ massive chakra reserve.

"Naruto!" Sakura gasped, rushing to his side. "Are you alright?" She was clinging to him as Sasuke began to slowly tip off the bed. She reached out to grab him, just barely grasping his prison issue t-shirt. "What happened to you two?"

Helping Sakura, Kakashi appeared beside her to set Sasuke back on the bed and force Naruto to sit down. "Exhaustion, I'm sure. Maybe slight chakra depletion on Naruto's part."

"Nothing I can't heal in half a day, Sakura. No worries!" He tried to give her a reassuring smile, but fainted, instead, on top of Sasuke's outstretched legs.

Sasuke groaned as Naruto's full dead weight landed on his legs, forcing his knees to bend in the opposite direction. He pushed at the unconscious form until his knees were in a safer position. "Idiot."

"Well, until he wakes up, how are you feeling, Sasuke?" Sakura asked, leaning over to check his vitals.

With a roll of his eyes, he let her examine him. "I'm fine."

"Could you tell he was in your mind, Sasuke?" Jiraiya asked the question that was on everyone's minds. "Did the dreams seem different in any way, more realistic, anything?"

Sasuke honestly thought about it, about the dreams and if they were, in fact, different. With a slight shrug, he looked at Jiraiya. "Slightly. They did feel more real, I guess."

"Interesting." Jiraiya said, putting his hand to his chin, scratching it thoughtfully.

"Your vitals are good, Sasuke. Nothing out of the ordinary, except your exhaustion, but it can be explained. Would you like us to leave so you can get some sleep?"

There were six eyes, pinned to his every move, making him very nervous. With a small nod, they all began clearing out. Sakura yelled something in the hallway that made a couple nurses bring in a bed, which they laid Naruto out on.

"Just until he wakes up, then we'll usher him out and back to his Hokage duties." Tsunade promised him before walking back out the door.

It was eerily silent in the room, save for Naruto's light breathing, after they left. Sasuke was used to silence, being in a maximum-security prison, by himself, for five years. But, with Naruto in the room, Sasuke felt it just shouldn't be _this_ silent. Tapping his fingers on the mattress, he waited for sleep to take over, or for Naruto to wake up. Whichever came first.

--------------------------------------------------

Wiping sweat from his forehead, Neji eyed Tenten carefully. Her moves were more predictable today, but he still had yet to pin her. The spar rules were: _First one to connect a hit five times wins_. It was harder than it seemed, especially when Tenten had begun taking advanced taijutsu lessons from Lee.

As the newest round started, Neji and Tenten tied 4-to-4, he had decided to be fully focused, minus her semi-predictable moves, if only because he'd been fighting Lee for quite a few years and her moves resembled his in an astonishing way. She left her left side open when she performed her roundhouse kick, giving Neji the perfect opportunity, but his Byakugan ruined everything – and he never thought he'd ever think _that_.

For a split second, which he barely ever allowed himself, Neji lost focus. Instead of focusing solely on Tenten and her badly placed roundhouse, he looked over her right shoulder. At that same moment, Sakura came into his view, smiling and waving. Tenten's kick, even badly placed, connected…right in Neji's groin.

The Hyuuga went down, dropping like a rock, and could barely hear Tenten's apologies over the pain. What did register, however, was the pink hair, green eyes, and familiar voice ushering Tenten to get her ice pack. What made Neji jump into a sitting position so quick he damn near knocked the kneeling Sakura over was when her green-glowing hand was being slowly lowered over his groin-area.

"Wha-wha-_what_ are you doing?" Neji squeaked out, making Sakura look amused and shocked at the same time.

"I can heal it, Neji."

"No." He squeaked, immediately wincing at his unstable and disobeying voice. "I'm fine."

"C'mon, Neji, don't be a baby. Let me heal you." When she went to lower her hand again, and got the same reaction, she sat back on her haunches and smirked. "I promise I won't take in any _measurements_, Neji."

Blocking out the snickering Tenten in the background, he ripped the offered ice pack from her hand and stood, shakily, on his feet. "I am fine, Sakura, thank you." Attempting to maintain the last shred of dignity he had left, Neji limped away from the two girls and toward the Hyuuga Manor. Although nightmares from that moment will haunt him for a while, he'd pretend it didn't even happen tomorrow. Of that, he promised himself.

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"The tea is good here." Kiba remarked, feeling extremely self-conscious all of a sudden. Across the small table from him, Hinata nodded slightly and gave him a weak smile. Either she wasn't enjoying herself, or she was as nervous as he was, Kiba couldn't tell.

Refusing to give up this easily - wasn't that what Naruto always said? – Kiba looked toward the window for inspiration. When he watched Neji limp down the street with a slightly laughing Sakura following closely, yelling something and waving her hand, he arched an eyebrow. When he noticed where Neji was holding the ice pack he now saw in the Hyuuga's hand, Kiba realized that his nearly failed first date wasn't so bad. At least he wasn't the only one in one hell of an awkward situation.

* * *

So, not as long as the last one, but at least I finished the Dreamwalker justsu part. I hope you enjoyed it!

Remember... _read_ and _review_! Reviews are nice...


	7. Chapter 6

**Inevitable  
Chapter Six**

Kakashi left the hospital, followed closely by a chattering Sakura, to bask in the bright sun of a Konoha summer day. It was the perfect temperature, one where you weren't too hot or too cold, for Kakashi to resume his favorite past time: lying on a rock, basking in the sun, and reading his porn.

When Sakura parted ways, muttering something about finding a certain Hyuuga, the jounin had to laugh. It was still so different not having Sakura go on and on about Sasuke, but she found a different stoic dark haired man, one who was actually interested in her. His gaze lingered for a little while on Sakura's receding form before casually walking toward his intended reading spot.

He was nearly to his favorite rock, the one that separated the path to the park and the path to the main business district, when his _eternal rival_ disrupted him. Kakashi stopped, sighing heavily, and waited for Gai to finish his 'youthful' speech.

"My eternal rival, Kakashi, I have come to tip the balance of our eternally youthful tie!" Gai stood in his self-named pose, flashing Kakashi a very bright toothy smile.

"Actually, Gai…I'm in the lead, remember?" His eye crinkled as he smiled while he scratched the back of his neck. "I won the push-up contest last week."

The toothy smile faded and the thumbs-up slowly fell limp against Gai's side. "Oh…well, in that case, we will have _another_ battle!"

"Actually, Gai…I was kind of hoping…"

"I won't take no for an answer, my eternal rival!" The green-clad jounin crossed his arms, signaling he'd won the conversation no matter what Kakashi said.

Sighing, Kakashi motioned for Gai to lead the way. He knew he wouldn't get any rest until the battle was won either way. Today was starting out to be a long day. As they walked on, Gai's expression suddenly turned from exuberance to seriousness.

"Kakashi, what do you know about the Fifth's apprentice, Shizune?"

"Um…well…" Kakashi began, suddenly realizing he didn't know a lot about that woman. "She can be a firecracker when she's all riled up. Mostly she's pretty quiet." Casting a sideward glance, he saw Gai was taking in everything he'd said. "Why, Gai?"

"N-nothing, Kakashi!" Gai flashed the fakest 'Gai-pose' Kakashi had ever seen. "Forget I said anything, eternal rival! Now let's go settle our youthful battle!"

Sighing again, Kakashi shrugged. "Whatever."

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"This door is broken." Tsunade said, her tone making it hard to tell if it was a statement or a question. Shizune froze when she heard Tsunade speak, having not noticed her arrival in the office, and slowly looked up from the paperwork she was sorting.

"Lady Tsunade!" The paperwork dropped from her hand as she took in Tsunade's shocked expression. "I told him to fix it, that's the best he could do, but he would have done better had he stopped _staring_ at me like that…"

Tsunade gaped at Shizune's rambling, having not heard it for quite some time, at least not since she was a teenager. "What happened to the door?"

"Lee, Lady Tsunade! Lee and his damn _dynamic entry_ bullshit!" Instantly, upon swearing in front of her mistress, Shizune covered her mouth with both hands; her eyes wide as saucers.

Tsunade was biting back the smirk and fit of laughter, instead she settled on an amused expression. "Hell, he's Naruto's friend. Let the _Hokage_ deal with it when he wakes up."

"Wakes up?" Shizune asked, her voice muffled from the hands still held over her mouth. "Is he okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, he's fine, just exhaustion. He held the jutsu for over three hours, it was amazing he lasted that long." She took a seat in front of the desk, the pile of paperwork looking quite a lot like it did when she was Hokage. "Shizune, you don't have to sort his paperwork, he's got Sakura for that. Where is she anyway?"

Finally taking her hands away from her mouth, Shizune swallowed hard and began to answer, choosing her words carefully as to not swear in front of Tsunade again. "I don't know. She never came back here."

Tsunade nodded and looked out the window. If Naruto could take a break, even Sakura could, Tsunade supposed.

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Neji stomped into the Hyuuga Manor, never taking his intense stare off his front door. He was determined to hide for the rest of the day and pretend that Tenten did _not_ just beat him in a sparring match and Sakura did _not_ just try to heal his – as far as he was concerned – bruised groin.

His Uncle watched him enter the front gates, his jaunt barely registering a limp, and the expression on his face that was a mixture of horrified and embarrassed. Hiashi waited until Neji came within a few feet of him before talking to his nephew.

"Neji, what happened?" Hiashi knew he wasn't Neji's father, nor was he trying to be, and he sure as hell wasn't good at comfort or things like that, but he was trying.

Neji paused for a moment, his eyes still staring intently on his front door. "I _really_ don't want to talk about it, Uncle. Please allow me to my room."

Hiashi waved him through, not pressing the matter, until he spied a pink haired woman peeking around the gate. "Sure, nephew, but you might want to talk to her first." Hiashi left, but not before hearing Neji squeak out a greeting to the woman. Who would have thought the usually in control Neji would lose his control at the sight of a woman he liked?

"Sakura?" Neji squeaked, his eyes showing a surprise he didn't normally have.

Sakura smiled and walked, slowly, into the one place in Konoha she'd never been, besides the Uchiha District – which no one entered. "Neji, about earlier…"

"No, Sakura, it wasn't your fault…"

"I shouldn't have interrupted you…"

"I should have been paying better attention…"

Realizing they were just talking over each other, and really not getting anywhere, Sakura giggled lightly. Neji stopped talking, staring intently at the ground, and trying desperately not to break into a cheetah-speed run to his room. The Hyuuga prodigy never took embarrassment well; it just wasn't in his character. In fact, as often as possible, Neji avoided situations that could be considered awkward. He even found a way out of Sexual Education class in the Academy. Of course he was forced to do a very un-Hyuuga-like thing and _fake an illness_, but he did what he did to avoid embarrassment.

But now, as he watched Sakura's eyes travel down to the ground, following his gaze, he realized he'd entered an awkward situation he could not avoid. Her eyes settled, once again, on his crotch and she began to smirk slightly.

"Um…Neji…I think your ice pack is leaking…" She slightly motioned with her hand toward his crotch, her face contorting in an effort to not laugh. The whole situation was awkward enough already.

Glancing down, Neji saw what Sakura was pointing at. The ice pack had been sweating from the heat of the day and, in turn, made a wet spot on the front of his pants; a spot that resembled one urinating on himself. Sakura had never seen Neji's face turn any color, unless seeing him after intense training – usually with Lee - or that one time he had a high fever in the hospital. But never had she seen him turn this shade of pink, which slowly turned into a deep red.

He stuttered a bit, trying to hide the spot, before excusing himself and running into his room. Sakura stood there for a while, swallowing her urge to roll on the ground with laughter, before slowly walking out of the Hyuuga Manor. Sakura figured she'd embarrassed the poor Hyuuga enough for one day.

Inside his bathroom, Neji leaned over the sink and stared, intently, into the mirror, studying his face and the blush still evident on his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. Never before had any woman had this much of an effect on him, nor made him lose control. It hadn't always been that way with Sakura, though. Just since she'd turned nineteen, it seemed that she'd blossomed and grew into all her awkward features. She definitely wasn't the same Sakura he'd meant at the chuunin exams when they were younger and still rookies.

Sighing, Neji made his way to his wardrobe and pulled out a new, dry pair of pants. There was always the next day, another day for Neji to, hopefully, _not_ embarrass himself in front of the girl he'd come to dream about. And, maybe, another date that Lee wouldn't crash.

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It was cold and damp, the floor covered in an inch-deep pool of water. At least, Sasuke thought it was water, but he wasn't bending over to check it out. Instead, Sasuke stared straight ahead, his eyes focused on the illusion in front of him - a wispy, translucent vision of Naruto, in his Hokage uniform, with Itachi standing behind him.

"If I can't have your eyes, brother," Itachi reached through Naruto's head from the back, plucking out an eyeball and holding it purposefully in his hand, "then I'll take his."

Sasuke felt himself leap forward, grabbing at Itachi and the translucent Naruto. A pale hand, Itachi's hand, left go of the eyeball. It made a 'plop' sound as it landed in the water covering the floor. Horrified, Sasuke looked back up at Naruto, his eyes seeming to concentrate on the black hole that was once Naruto's left eye. The blonde was still standing perfectly still, as if nothing happened. When Sasuke's own eyes doubled in size, still fully concentrated on the empty socket, Naruto cocked his head to the side.

"What's the matter, Sasuke?" A tan hand reached out, slowly tracing his jaw line. "You look scared. Let me help you."

Sasuke felt himself being pulled into a hug, but was too frightened to move. Over Naruto's shoulder, Sasuke watched as Itachi picked up the eyeball and slid it inside of a glass jar. When Itachi turned to walk out, Sasuke pulled from Naruto's grasp and lunged at his brother. He raised a fist, aiming at the exact spot on the back of Itachi's neck to knock him out cold.

It connected with something…something firm and warm…

"Damn it, Sasuke!"

Sasuke's eyes snapped open, only to find himself sitting up in the hospital bed, fist still stretched out.

It did connect…with Naruto's jaw.

"Na-Naruto?" Sasuke asked, still disoriented from the dream. He let his fist drop to his side; his eyes watching as Naruto tenderly touched his swollen cheek.

"Yeah, bastard, why'd ya hit me?"

Sasuke stared at Naruto for a second, still having the image of an eyeball-less blonde floating through his head. Giving his mind a vigorous shake, Sasuke finally let his eyes focus on the swollen tanned cheek and the cerulean blue eyes glaring intently at him.

Realizing said eyes were glaring because he still hadn't answered him, Sasuke shrugged. "I was having a dream, I guess."

Naruto sighed and stood up. "Yeah, I figured. I could hear you moaning or something, and you kept thrashing around."

"Oh." Sasuke watched as Naruto walked toward he window, hands behind his back.

"Was it another nightmare about him?"

For a second Sasuke couldn't figure out how Naruto knew what his dreams were about. For a second Sasuke forgot all about the jutsu and that Naruto was inside of his head. But, the second ended and Sasuke remembered he was angry with the blonde for violating his mind like that.

"Sasuke?" Naruto wasn't staring out the window anymore. Instead, he was staring at Sasuke, a puzzled look on his face. "Answer me."

Crossing his arms, Sasuke turned his head and stared at the wall. He could sense Naruto glaring at him, and knew he was probably being childish, but he didn't care. The blonde used his power, his Hokage power, and forced his way into Sasuke thoughts. The one place Sasuke was supposed to have all to himself. It wasn't fair, he felt violated, and he was angry.

"Fine." Naruto growled out, turning back toward the window. "Be a bitch. I already know the answer, don't I?"

An uncomfortable silence stretched between them for what felt like an eternity. Never being one that could handle silence, Naruto opened his mouth to break it first. Sasuke beat him to it.

"Did you have fun in my head?" Naruto turned around, facing Sasuke, who was glaring back. "I'll bet you did. I'll bet you enjoyed peeping through every memory and dream I've ever had. Find anything interesting?"

"Why does this bother you so much?" Naruto asked, waving his arms around. "It's not like I wanted to go in there! Do you know how weird your mind is? Everything is neat and arranged and black, red, and white…and booby trapped!" Sasuke arched an eyebrow, but Naruto continued. "A damn snake tried to bite me. But that was after one of those boxes tried to swallow me! And then I had to sort through all of your bullshit to find what I really wanted to find. Your mind was so confusing and frustrating!"

"No one said you had to stay!" Sasuke growled back, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I did this for you!" Naruto spat out. "I did this to save you, why can't you understand that?"

Sasuke shook his head and stood up, hands fisted at his sides. "Did I ever ask for your help?" Sasuke took a big step toward Naruto, eyes still narrowed and glaring.

Naruto took a step toward Sasuke as well, emotions flaring. "Maybe you should have!"

"There are a lot of things I should have done, according to you!"

"Maybe if you would have asked for help you wouldn't have nightmares about killing me, Sasuke!" Naruto was on a rampage and ignored the way Sasuke shivered when he spoke and the way Sasuke's eyes doubled in size. "Then maybe you could tell me how you really feel in reality instead of in your dreams, bastard!" Naruto also ignored the way Sasuke's jaw hit the floor. "And then you wouldn't have to draw me naked all the time!"

Twice within an hour, Sasuke's fist was swung at Naruto's jaw. This time, however, Naruto was ready for him. Grabbing a pale wrist in his hands, Naruto swung Sasuke around, slamming his back into the wall. With Sasuke's other wrist in his hand, he brought them both up above Sasuke's head and held them there. Their eyes connected for a moment, intensity emulating from both pairs, before their lips connected fiercely.

Sasuke attempted to come to his senses and pull his head away, but it slammed into the wall behind him. He opened his mouth to groan, but Naruto took it as an invitation. He slipped his tongue in Sasuke's mouth, making Sasuke decide that ending this wouldn't be his best idea ever. When Sasuke's arms went limp, Naruto left his wrists go. Pale hands slid up his arms and around his neck, burying the fingers into Naruto's golden hair. Their bruising kiss went on, neither breaking to breathe, until Naruto's fingers wandered underneath Sasuke's prison-issue t-shirt. Sasuke pulled back, a breath hitched in his throat, when the calloused fingertips skimmed over his heated skin. They stood there, their foreheads pressed together, panting rapidly.

When Naruto opened his mouth to speak, Sasuke's hands gripped the front of his jounin vest, throwing him around into the wall. Naruto's head hit hard, but the pain was lessened by Sasuke's bruised and swollen lips crushing against his own. Sasuke's hands stayed fisted in the vest intensely, keeping the blonde pinned between him and the wall. They stayed that way for a while, kissing and nipping each other's lips, before Sasuke's hands began to wander. They slid, slowly, down the front of Naruto's vest until they reached the hem of his black shirt. Sliding slowly over Naruto's heated skin, he felt Naruto's breath hitch and a moan escape him. Naruto dug his hands into Sasuke's hair deeper, intensifying the kiss. Sasuke's hands continued to wander toward Naruto's belly. When he reached the bellybutton, a spark of chakra made both men jump back.

"What was that?" Naruto breathed out, his voice husky. Sasuke shrugged, tugging Naruto's shirt up further.

The spiral seal on Naruto's stomach was visible, the inky black of the seal outlined by a faint blue glow of chakra. Sasuke tenderly reached to touch it again, only to have his fingers sparked with the chakra again. It was an odd sensation, akin to a rush of pleasure mixed with a hint of electricity. A devious plan was hatched as their eyes met, and a faint smirk from both of their lips, and Sasuke's hand, palm flat, pressed against the seal again. The jolt they both felt was nearly orgasmic as they both plunged into a searing kiss. Sasuke rubbed his thumb across the seal, making the jolt strike them again. This time, it earned a groan from both men and Naruto clutching the sleeves of Sasuke's t-shirt.

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Sakura sighed, trudging up the stairs of the hospital. They wanted somewhere quiet and nearly isolated to do the jutsu, so Tsunade suggested the coma ward. Hardly anyone was ever up there, save for a few nurses, and they spent most of their time behind the nurse's desk reading magazines and gossiping.

Her mind was wandering, thoughts of an adorably embarrassed Neji running rampant. Walking past the nurse's station, Sakura barely took notice of the empty office. It was their lunch time, after all, so it wasn't entirely unlikely that there were no nurses there. What was unlikely was the amount of noise that seemed to be coming from that floor. More accurately, coming from the room Sasuke and Naruto were in.

Part of Sakura reasoned that they were just fighting, sparing, and that it was normal. Crossing the gap between herself and the door rather slowly, Sakura was nearly knocked over. Naruto was running, rather quickly, down the hallway. Stunned, Sakura didn't know what to do, or which friend to comfort first. A peek inside the room, she watched Sasuke slide slowly down the wall, digging his pale fingers into his dark hair tightly. After another round of glancing between a distraught Sasuke and Naruto's retreating form, she opted for the one closest to her in proximity. Taking a deep breath, she walked into Sasuke's room and prepared herself for the worst…she was pretty sure that's what she'd be getting anyway.

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Kiba walked Hinata home, determined to end this date on a positive note if it killed him. First he was so nervous he could be knocked over with a feather, and then he'd witnessed Neji holding an ice pack on a sensitive area. All that within the first half hour, and that wasn't even everything that went wrong.

And, as if that wasn't bad enough, he had to witness Gai and Kakashi's latest eternal rivalry match, which apparently began somewhere else and spilled over into downtown Konoha. How thumb wrestling could spark that much rage in anyone was beyond Kiba. Needless to say, the date was ruined from the start and all that was left for Kiba was to wish Hinata wouldn't hold it against him.

Suddenly he regretted making Akamaru stay home. He needed his companion by his side when, he felt sure, he got rejected. There's no way this date went well, and he could kid himself all he wanted to but the truth remained, Hinata wouldn't want to see him ever again. It was with a pang in his gut that he realized if she didn't want to, she didn't have to. The team went their separate ways a while ago and, although they still got together every once in a while, Hinata could stop seeing him.

With thoughts like that it was no wonder Kiba was caught off guard when, after reaching the Hyuuga's gate, Hinata grabbed the front of Kiba's shirt and pulled him down for a kiss. It was quick, but intense enough to leave the Inuzuka wide-eyed and gaping as a blushing Hinata rushed toward her front door. He was still standing there a few moments later when he heard her soft voice call out "See you tomorrow, Kiba-kun!" before shutting her door.

Hiashi Hyuuga shook his head and walked back toward the family room to find his wife. He was sure the day could not get any stranger. But, just in case, he wanted to know where Hanabi was. Hiashi Hyuuga was not getting surprised three times in one day, not if he could help it, at least.

* * *

Honestly, Gai is f-ing difficult to write! I don't know why, I guess because I kept wanting to make him talk _normal_, but he was so hard for me to write. Ah, well...enjoy anyway!

Special thanks to my beta: SoulSpirtHeart --- You, my friend, are amazing!


	8. Chapter 7

**Inevitable  
Chapter Seven**

_Where did the idiot learn to kiss like this?_ Sasuke asked himself as Naruto's mouth moved expertly against his own. He was sure their breathing couldn't get much heavier, nor could their lips get more swollen and tender. He'd long since removed Naruto of the troublesome jounin vest and was currently tracing circles with his thumb and forefinger against Naruto's heated and sensitive skin. With each move, Sasuke could feel it jumping beneath his fingers, craving more of the same.

Bringing his fingers to the hem of Sasuke's shirt, Naruto began to slowly work his fingers under the fabric. He was slightly shocked at how much raw muscle was packed into Sasuke's lean frame as he worked his hands up Sasuke's chest and then around to his back. Gripping his shoulder blades and digging his nails in, he pulled Sasuke closer. Naruto was getting what he'd often dreamed about, often wanted, but never thought he'd ever be good enough to reach. Nothing short of a natural disaster could stop him; he was getting _his_ Sasuke.

Naruto moved his lips from Sasuke's mouth, earning a whimper at their departure, before trailing them down Sasuke's jaw line, to his earlobe, then down his neck. Sasuke's head lolled back, his dark hair cascading down past his shoulder blades.

Sasuke was lost, drowning in raw pleasure. It was intoxicating, and Sasuke was drinking it all up. His mind wasn't thinking of anything except what Naruto, the idiot who couldn't do _anything_ right, was doing exactly right. Every move was perfect, strategic, and drawing Sasuke further into a situation better than any erotic fantasy.

"God, Naruto…" Sasuke moaned. Naruto dug his nails in deeper, sucking on the sensitive skin where Sasuke's neck and shoulder met.

Pulling back a little, Naruto looked into Sasuke's eyes, clouded in desire, and let himself smile. "Sasuke…I…I love you."

The words echoed in Sasuke's head and, for a moment, he just stood there. A cross between joy and sorrow jolted through him and, as Naruto leaned in to finish a kiss he'd interrupted to speak, Sasuke jumped backward. His eyes cleared from the desire they previously held as his face took on an expression akin to repulsion. Although, that wasn't quite the expression he was going for.

"Yo-you…love me? Wha…you can't…no…" Sasuke stumbled over his words, memories of his family, other people he'd loved, and what became of them. Suddenly fearing for Naruto and what could happen, Sasuke shut himself down.

There wasn't any way Sasuke could allow Naruto in, not again. He wasn't ready, wasn't deserving of it, and Naruto couldn't get hurt again…not by Sasuke…not like that.

Naruto was frozen, his hands still held at awkward angles from previously digging into Sasuke's shoulder blades. His lips were pink and swollen. His black shirt was still partially sticking up in the front from where Sasuke's hand previously was. Sasuke didn't look much better. Everything about him looked ruffled, from his shirt to his hair. His usually pale skin was dusted in pink, as were his lips. There were still traces of Naruto's saliva clinging to his jaw line and neck. The spot Naruto was fixated on earlier was showing a bright red circle, a mark that would still be present in the morning.

"I…Sasuke…" Naruto couldn't form words. Sasuke looked petrified, as if he was just forced into something he never wanted to do. As scared as Sasuke looked, Naruto was beginning to look worse.

Ignoring the pang of guilt in his gut, Sasuke turned toward the window and crossed his arms in front of him. "Naruto…I…I didn't want this."

Naruto's eyes narrowed, widened, than narrowed again. "Didn't want this? You sure seemed to be _enjoying_ it!"

"You misunderstood." Sasuke nearly flinched at the tone his voice took. He sounded, ironically, exactly like Itachi. Another thing he wasn't actually going for. "You let yourself get lost in your own little fantasy…just like the dobe you are."

Naruto seemed to sputter over his words, his mind reeling. "Wha-What? I was…I saw…you were…I…"

Sasuke didn't move, didn't flinch – physically at least. Instead he stood perfect still, muscles tensed, awaiting an explosion he was counting on happening.

"You can't just…just…_make-out_ with people and then just _randomly_ walk away. It doesn't work that way, Sasuke!"

"Nothing happened between us." Sasuke's smooth voice said, as if he was bored with the situation. "You have no idea what you actually saw in my head. Your obsession with me misconstrued the memory you saw. It's the only explanation."

Naruto's heart shattered. For a moment, Naruto couldn't breathe or move. He knew Sasuke couldn't be serious, not after everything Naruto had seen, heard, felt inside his head. But he was being stubborn, complicated, frustrating…just like his mind was. Naruto's emotions went from sad and alone to angry and determined as he walked closer to Sasuke's back.

Naruto grabbed Sasuke's shoulder, whipping the man around. What Sasuke saw in Naruto's cerulean eyes made him shudder; a plethora of pain, sadness, fear, and love. Sasuke felt like jumping off the tallest building, but instead just stood firm, keeping his blank.

"Deny what you want, Sasuke, but I _know_ what is in your head." That sentence alone seemed threatening, but, again, Sasuke stood firm. He arched an eyebrow. "This won't be it, Uchiha…whatever game you're playing _will not work_."

Adding salt to the wound, Sasuke retorted. "You saw nothing. You are delusional."

Naruto's eyes narrowed, his brow furrowing together. He refused to let that bastard see the tears threatening to pour, making him whip around and walk furiously toward the door. He'd almost made it when a choked sob left his body. Fear of Sasuke hearing it propelled him out the door faster, nearly knocking Sakura over in the process.

Sasuke had heard, had seen, and the pang of guilt nearly doubled him over. He let himself rest against the wall, fisting his pale hands in his hair, and let his body slid to the floor.

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If there was one thing Shikamaru Nara _did not_ want to deal with on his first day off in over three weeks was a crying Ino Yamanaka. Why she was crying, Shikamaru did not know. All that the innocent genius knew was the crying girl on his shoulder seemed to be using his chuunin vest as a tissue…something he, no matter what the situation was, did _not_ approve of.

"Ino, you are going to tell me what happened, right?" His tone was bored, which it normally was, and which Ino ignored. Instead she pulled herself away and stood up straight.

Ino looked up at Shikamaru's face, his eyes betraying his tone. He did look slightly concerned, which was enough for Ino to tell her problem. She just didn't know how to word it. When the subject was Chouji, sometimes it was better to not involve his best friend. But, she needed his help…he was the only one who _could_ help.

She sobbed a little bit more, wiping her eyes with her hands. "I…I'm…"

Shikamaru's eyes doubled in size. No conversation could ever start out good when a girl was crying and talking about herself like that. His mind jumped to its first conclusion, the wrong conclusion. "You're pregnant?"

Ino's head snapped up, her crying forgotten. She drew her eyes down and growled, "Do I _look_ pregnant, Shikamaru?"

He blinked a few times before offering up a weak, "Um…no?"

"Then what, pray tell, would possess you to say that to me?" Ino's hands were fisted at her sides, which was never a good sign. Sakura did train Ino in more than just medical jutsu, her chakra strength worked its way in there, too.

Again, Shikamaru blinked a few times. "Because I'm an idiot?"

Ino snorted, her tears long forgotten. "Yes, Shikamaru Nara, you are. A brilliant idiot."

Choosing not to point out the obvious use of oxymoron in her statement, Shikamaru just took the fact Ino was _not_ slamming him into next week as a good sign. Deciding it would be less troublesome to just let the entire situation go, he let her lead the way and they walked a good block and a half before she worked herself up again to explain the situation.

"So, um," She turned suddenly, forcing Shikamaru to stop, too. "I guess I should explain the crying, huh?"

The chuunin nodded his head slightly, sliding his hands into his pockets. He really didn't have the heart to tell her he honestly didn't care.

Her eyes began to well with tears again, but she controlled her sobbing a lot better this time. "I think…well, um, I know…that Chouji is pretty mad at me. I didn't mean it to come out that meanly…he was just pissing me off."

Shikamaru sighed, loudly, making Ino raise an eyebrow at him. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Just apologize and make him something to eat. You two will be fine."

Ino tilted her head to the side. "You don't even know what I said, Shika."

"For some reason, he loves you. So, an apology and some make up" – Ino arched her eyebrow even higher – "_food_ will fix everything."

Taking a deep breath, Ino smiled a little. "Thanks, Shikamaru. You're a great friend."

As Ino left his side to raid the nearest grocery store, Shikamaru turned on his heels to find the most quiet place in Konoha to think. He needed _his_ spot because this was turning out to be one hell of a day.

And all that happened before seeing the newly appointed Hokage running through the streets…and trying to hide that he was crying.

Today was turning out to be extremely troublesome.

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"Do you have any idea how much I love you? In a manly way, of course…"

Iruka pinched the bridge of his nose before looking back up at Konohamaru. Behind him stood Genma, who was feeling the pressures of having a genin team, which he'd never had, just by dealing with a singular chuunin. Behind them stood Ibiki, which should have been intimidating Konohamaru…but was failing at that horribly.

"Konohamaru, please listen to me very closely…" But Iruka never had the chance to finish his sentence.

"C'mon, Iruka-sensei! Naruto-niichan needs a new bodyguard, right? Who would be more perfect for the job than his self-proclaimed apprentice – _slash_ – adopted brother? I'd protect him like a motherfu-"

"Don't finish that sentence, Konohamaru, if you want to be able to taste _anything_ again!" Iruka warned sternly, shaking a threatening finger at the young chuunin. "You don't fit…well, _any_ of the requirements to be his bodyguard."

"Which I've already told you seven times today, Konohamaru." Genma said offhandedly from behind him. The jounin was picking his nails, biting the skin around them ever so often. He looked either bored or irritated; Iruka couldn't decide which.

"Genma-sensei, you can leave if you want." Iruka offered, which the jounin took happily.

Genma disappeared through the door and Ibiki walked over to stand beside the seventeen year old, who was glaring intently at his ex-teacher.

"So what if I'm not an ANBU, I've got experience, and dedication…and…and…de-determination!"

Iruka sighed, rubbing his temples. "I understand that, Konohamaru, but the council will turn you down. I'm sorry, but I can't even let you fill out the paperwork. You have to be in the ANBU to offer to bodyguard the Hokage."

"Naruto." Konohamaru muttered under his breath.

"What?" Iruka looked up, hands pausing his rub at his temples.

"I said his name is _Naruto_, not _Hokage_. He's still just Naruto underneath that damn uniform he has to wear. Everyone treats him different…I'm sure he hates it." Crossing his arms and looking to the ground beside him, he added, "I know I would."

"Konohamaru." Iruka's tone was low as he spoke, as if comforting a hurt child. It was still strange, seeing his students all grown up and at the same level he was at. Especially seeing Naruto as the Hokage. It took him a while before he put the "-sama" to the blonde's name, or before he began calling him 'Hokage' in mixed company. But maybe Konohamaru was right. Too many changes and people began to forget who you used to be. It was the same with Naruto. "You're right, Konohamaru. But, either way, you can't apply to be _Naruto's_ bodyguard."

Instantly, Konohamaru got defensive. It wasn't fair; this was something he'd really wanted to do, to protect his makeshift older brother. No one could keep him from this goal. He advanced on Iruka, if only to emphasize his point, but Ibiki placed his hand on the teenagers shoulder.

"Easy boy."

"Fuck you!" The teenager threw Ibiki's hand off of him, stepping back from both men. "You think I didn't do my homework on this? If the _Hokage_ orders a non-ANBU chuunin to be his bodyguard, then the council can't overthrow it _unless_ said chuunin screws up. I read the rules and memorized every loophole." Then, as if added only as a side note, Konohamaru smirked, "I _am_ the _Third_ Hokage's _grandson_, after all."

"Konohamaru," Iruka began, but was cut off by the young man glaring intently and pointing an accusing finger at him.

Konohamaru had had enough. He was tired of everyone turning him down and berating him for _something_ he'd done wrong. This time, he was starting over. This time he was doing something right from the start.

"Don't. Don't start, I'm going to Naruto!"

As Konohamaru ran from the mission room, both men looked at each other.

"Well, that went well." Ibiki deadpanned, making Iruka rub his temples furiously.

--------------------------------------------------

It wasn't every day one could see the last remaining Uchiha – or _any_ Uchiha for that matter – breaking down in front of them. It was a sight that Sakura herself had never truly seen. It was a sight she'd never wanted to see again. Sasuke wasn't supposed to be vulnerable and, quite on the verge of, crying. Sasuke was supposed to be strong, was supposed to be unbreakable. He wasn't supposed to be able to break down, to lose his emotionless mask. But he did, he was, and Sakura didn't like it. It just wasn't setting quite right with her.

She walked toward him slowly, taking deliberate and cautious steps toward Sasuke as if he was an abused animal out of his cage. Sakura saw, when one of her footfalls fell a little too hard, Sasuke's muscles tense, his hands frozen fisted in his dark hair. She could practically feel him trying to sense who she was. Folding herself down, she kneeled before him. Sasuke raised his eyes to peer through his thick bangs at her. She couldn't read the emotions in his eyes, but was sure they weren't emotions she was used to him having.

"Sasuke…you okay?" As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized how stupid they sounded. Of course he wasn't okay. _The_ Sasuke Uchiha doesn't just randomly break down for no apparent reason. As a delicate dark eyebrow arched, Sakura gave a desperate laugh. "Yeah, stupid question."

Instead of giving Sakura the opportunity of trying her question again, Sasuke abruptly stood up. Taking Sakura a little off-guard, causing the pink-haired woman to fall backwards on her tailbone, Sasuke leaned casually against the wall.

"So…do I go back to prison…?"

Sakura looked up at him, cocking her head to the side, before pushing herself off the floor and brushing her hands off on her skirt. "Um…"

"Well, whatever you have in store for me, can we get on with it?" His arms were crossed and his head was turned to the side, his dark bangs still hanging in front of his face. From the angle the light was hitting him, combined with the distant look in his eyes, his resemblance to Itachi was eerie. Sakura had to remind herself quite frequently that he wasn't Itachi.

"Naruto didn't tell you anything?"

If one were trained to see it, there was no mistaking the slight flinch that hit Sasuke with her words, but Sakura missed it.

"No."

Her eyes narrowed as she began to study Sasuke, like a germ under a microscope. He wasn't acting like the Sasuke she talked to during his tests. He was distant again, shutting everyone out. It wasn't normal, unless something happened between him and Naruto. Before she could ask, however, his face turned to her and quirked an eyebrow.

"I'll have to find out."

He gave a slight nod before returning to his bed and sitting on the edge. Sakura sighed before walking out the door. Nothing was learned, but with Sasuke shut off the way he was, no answer would leave his mouth. Instead of pushing for the impossible, Sakura decided to just leave and try on a more willing party. Naruto might provide some answers, hopefully. As she reached the doorway, she glanced back at Sasuke in time to see him forming a few hand signs. In a puff of smoke, a notebook appeared on the bed in front of him, with a pen stuck in the metal binding rings. She didn't stay to see him take the pen from the binding and hover it over the paper.

As much as he didn't want to admit it, forcing Naruto away was harder on him than on Naruto. Just when he'd felt happy, felt complete, he'd sent the source away…but he had to. Naruto was too important to him, too precious, to risk hurting him again. A few weeks of broken hearts and painful words would end, Sasuke felt sure. And then Naruto would find someone else, someone who wouldn't hurt him, and forget all about what they'd done.

The pen pressed down on the paper a little more than intended, sending the point through to the next sheet, but Sasuke wasn't paying attention. His mind was whirling with thoughts of his and Naruto's make out session.

Sasuke…I…I love you.

But he couldn't…he wasn't supposed to. How could Naruto love someone who was so hell bent on killing him? On destroying him? How does anyone forgive that?

_You'll only hurt him again._ Sasuke's mind offered, shaking his head to rid him of the constant audio loop of Naruto's confession. _You don't deserve to be happy…to have him…he's too good for you…you don't deserve him…_

His mind was right, Sasuke decided. Pulling the pen from the paper, he placed his hand beside him on the bed. The pen was still pinned between his fingers, his grip loose. Trailing his unfocused gaze to the paper and the ink splayed on its surface, Sasuke saw he'd drawn a mirror image of his thoughts and emotions.

He'd drawn a broken heart.

--------------------------------------------------

The only place he'd ever felt safe, secure, and alone enough to think was sitting on top of his own father's head. So, in the most unnerving and frustrating moment in his life, Naruto choose to climb the Hokage Mountain and sit on the Fourth Hokage's – his _father's_ – head. The irony hit him this time, however. How his father had always made him feel safe without even knowing the man was his father was still a mystery…but it was still quite ironic.

Naruto had his back against the mountain, his knees up to his chest. Tears streamed down his cheeks as his fingers absentmindedly traced patterns on the rock made to look like Minato's spiky hair. There was so much to think about, so much to take in and process, but Naruto wasn't sure if any of it would. Sasuke's words had cut deep, directly in his heart. It hurt in places he didn't even know he had, couldn't name, and there was no cure. Except Sasuke. Sasuke was the _only_ cure.

With those thoughts running rampant through his mind, Naruto didn't hear, nor sense, Shikamaru slowly making his way toward him.

"Naruto…you okay?" His usually bored tone replaced with concern for his Hokage, his _friend_.

Naruto jumped at Shikamaru's voice and quickly tried to wipe the tears away, which immediately set a frown on the genius' face.

"Obviously not." Shikamaru answered for him, folding down to sit beside the blonde. Resting his outstretched arms on his knees, Shikamaru leaned his head against the mountain and looked up toward the clouds. "If you don't want to talk about it, I won't make you. But don't lie to me just because you're afraid of what I might say."

Naruto smirked through the fresh crop of tears. Leave it to Shikamaru to be exactly what Naruto needed at that moment. Resting his head on Shikamaru's shoulder, Naruto relished the quiet of the moment. He knew it wouldn't last long. If Shikamaru could find him, then Sakura will undoubtedly be able to also. And, when she got there all hell would break loose.

After a long silence, Naruto took his head off his friend's shoulder and wiped away the tears. Nothing was fixed, but Naruto was feeling slightly better. Shikamaru turned his head toward the blonde, watching him with a quizzical look in his eyes.

"Can I ask you something, Naruto?" Naruto turned toward his voice and nodded. "Why do you always pick this Hokage to sit on? I mean, Tsunade's hair would be much more comfortable."

Naruto had to laugh at the un-Shikamaru-like question, but decided to answer it anyway. "He's my dad, Shika…I think I always knew deep down because sitting here makes me feel safe." Risking a glance at Shikamaru to see him actually paying attention, Naruto smiled. "I can figure anything out on his head…I've always been able to. It's not the comfort, but the…the way he helps me think, I guess."

"Makes sense, I guess." Shikamaru sighed, linking his hands together behind his head and leaning back against the mountain again. "Do you want to talk about what was wrong before?"

It was Naruto's turn to sigh. But before he could form any words, Sakura landed in front of him.

"Found you!" She panted, looking worn out. "I went clear to your apartment, than to Ichiraku's…but finally I went to the Tower and saw you two sitting out here." She took a deep breath with her hand over her chest. "You're a hard man to find when you don't want to be found."

"Funny," Shikamaru said, standing up. "I didn't have any trouble."

Only Naruto caught the playful glint that went through Shikamaru's expression before Sakura rounded on him.

"Oh, shut up!"

Smirking, Shikamaru waved goodbye before disappearing, leaving Sakura to take his place beside Naruto. She began to open her mouth, a question begging to be left out, but Naruto cut her off.

"I don't – I can't…talk about it, yet, Sakura."

Sakura put both hands up in defense. "Alright, whatever. We'll just sit here and do nothing, then."

A short silence, and then:

"Are you positively sure you have nothing you want to talk about?"

Naruto chuckled lightly. "Yes, Sakura. I just need to think."

"Alright…but you should know _whatever_ happened made Sasuke kind of sad, I think…"

Naruto bit his lip, hard. His attempt to not cry wasn't working nearly as well as he'd hoped. Sakura trailed her sentence off upon seeing the blood on his lip and, after healing it, wrapped her arms around him and squeezed.

"Naruto…I know I'm not the one you have been after, at least not since age twelve, but I'm still here for you. Whatever you need." Naruto tried to pull back at her words, a questioning expression on his face, but Sakura just held him tight. "If he hurts you again, I'll kill him. Friend or not, makeshift family or not, I'll still kill him."

"Sa-Sakura-chan?"

When she finally let him go, he couldn't find any words to say. Did she know? Did Sasuke tell her? What was she talking about? None of his question received answers, however, after he heard the sound of breaking glass coming from the direction of his office.

"Naruto-niichan!"

Cringing, Naruto glanced toward the Hokage Tower, only to see Konohamaru hanging off the balcony.

"There's a door to that balcony, you know!" Naruto called back, glaring intently at his newly broken window. Sometimes he swore they replaced it more with him in office than with Tsunade…and half the time it wasn't even _Naruto_ who broke it.

"I need to talk to you!" Konohamaru yelled back, until he realized what Naruto had said. "There's a door?"

* * *

So...long wait and a lot of questions about why Naruto was running later...and you finally get your answer. Hope you enjoyed!


	9. Chapter 8

**Inevitable  
Chapter Eight**

"I need to see Naruto!" Konohamaru yelled, busting his way through the new, if barely, repaired door to the Hokage's office. The door was sent flying from its hinges as the teenager pushed it out of his way, sending it soaring toward the plate glass window.

Tsunade, who was standing in front of the desk that was once hers, turned around, her eyes catching the soaring door and following it closely. It hit the floor in front of the window, sliding slowly until one corner was mere millimeters away. Having braced herself for the crash, she slowly let her muscles relax as she eyed the young chuunin.

Konohamaru had changed a lot since he was a mere eleven-year-old troublemaker. He no longer wore the abnormally long scarf, having traded it in for an abnormally long headband, which dangled down the middle of his back. In many ways, Konohamaru resembled Naruto to an extent. It was in the subtle way he'd kept his haircut and in the clothes he choose to wear - although the clothes merely matched in style, not in color. His chuunin vest was kept open, as it always was, in another homage to the way Naruto had always worn his.

Tsunade peeled her eyes away from Konohamaru to quirk an eyebrow at Shizune, who looked like she was nearing a heart attack. Her eyes were wide and her finger pointed at the chuunin in a manner that screamed threatening. Tsunade felt a migraine come on as she turned her gaze back to Konohamaru.

"Brat, what do you think you're doing?"

"I need to see Naruto-niichan!" Konohamaru repeated, standing in the now door-free doorway. His arms were stretched out, each gripping on to the doorframe for support.

"He's not here, obviously."

"Well, where is he?" Konohamaru let go of the doorframe and crossed his arms over his chest. "I need to talk to him."

Tsunade sighed and waved her hand at Shizune. "Shizune, why don't you go to the hospital and see if he's awakened."

Konohamaru froze for a second before taking a few large steps toward the previous Hokage. "_Awakened?_ What happened to him?"

"A very taxing jutsu, but he'll be fine." She glared at the young boy before turned back to Shizune, who still hadn't moved. "Shizune?"

Slowly returned to her normal form, Shizune nodded and walked briskly out of the room, pausing only to glare at the already broken door lying in more pieces next to the plate glass window.

Konohamaru held his ground, even as Tsunade's piercing gaze attempted to set him on fire. They stayed like that for a moment before the young boy finally looked away and toward the window the door at nearly broken down. His eyes focused on his grandfather's head on the mountain and he sighed. He'd really missed his grandfather dearly, especially when he paused to look at that mountain.

His eyes flickered over to the next head on the mountain, the Fourth Hokage, Naruto's _father_, when he finally saw them. The bright red of Sakura's clothes and the bubble-gum pink of her hair caught his gaze first, then the bright blonde of Naruto's hair.

"Naruto-niichan!" Konohamaru said, excited, as he raced toward the window. Tsunade's hand jutted out to stop him, but he busted, shoulder first, through the window. Konohamaru was quicker than Tsunade gave him credit for. He hit the balcony railing on the other side and, Tsunade thought for sure, nearly went out over it. Instead, Konohamaru's chakra-charged hands gripped it and he hung out over it like a monkey. "_Naruto-niichan!_"

Tsunade began furiously rubbing her temples as she heard Konohamaru's voice asking, quite comically, "There's a door?"

The Fifth Hokage walked, through the door, out on the balcony and grabbed the chuunin by the back of his vest, throwing him backwards into the office, through another window. As it shattered around him, she heard Naruto yelling at her.

"I can't keep replacing those windows, Old Hag!"

Tsunade turned around, her eyes flashing with frustration and anger. "Get your _ass_ in here and deal with your _little brother_ before I _kill_ him!"

Naruto took a minute, weighing if Tsunade would actually _kill_ Konohamaru, but decided not to take the chance. He reached over and grabbed Sakura's hand before teleporting them into the office.

He took a deep breath as he eyed his two broken windows and the broken door before saying, quite exasperatedly, "_What_ can I do for you, Konohamaru?"

Outside, Shizune stared at the Hokage's office, a look of disbelief on her face. Pieces of glass were still falling from the balcony, shimmering prisms in the sunlight. She felt two presences beside her and turned her head. Gai and Kakashi stood on either side staring at the two broken windows themselves.

"Do I want to know?" Kakashi asked in his normal bored tone.

Shizune sighed. "No, no you really don't."

They stood there a couple more moments before Gai cleared his throat. "Shizune-san, would you like to get some tea with me?"

Kakashi looked slightly shocked, but crinkled his eye in a smile instead. "I'll just go check on the Hokage." After he disappeared, Shizune was still looking bewildered, but let Gai lead her toward the nearest teashop. A break might not be such a bad thing after all.

--------------------------------------------------

Shino Aburame took another drink of his tea before raising his hand, stopping Kiba's incessant ranting mid-word. Taking the moment of silence as a gift from God, Shino chose his next words carefully.

"Kiba…if she kissed you, then she wasn't bothered by the horrid date." Taking another sip of tea, he added, "Obviously."

Kiba's mouth opened and closed for a second before shaking his head slightly. "B-but…the date was _horrible_, Shino." And, there started the incessant ranting all over again.

The same hand gesture didn't work for Shino a second time, so the man took a deep breath and let some bugs loose from his sleeves. They surrounded Kiba's mouth, which instinctively closed. The bugs stayed there, silencing the dog-nin for the moment.

"Girls don't kiss their dates if said date was bad."

Kiba mumbled something which sounded like 'Ya sure?'

"Yes, Kiba. I'm sure." He took another sip of his tea. "If I remove the bugs, will you stop the incessant chatter?" Kiba nodded. "Promise?" Kiba nodded again. "Okay."

The bugs slowly crawled back to Shino and Kiba wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Where have those bugs been, Shino?"

The bug-nin just smirked, leaving Kiba to wipe his mouth more proficiently with the other sleeve. In the corner, Akamaru snorted before rolling over and finding a more comfortable position to sleep in. Truth be told, Akamaru was getting tired of Kiba constantly talking about his date as well.

After a few moments of deafening silence, and Kiba's constant nervous glances in Shino's direction, the bug-nin picked up his tea and offered, "If you don't believe me, ask your sister."

Before Shino could finish his sip of tea, Akamaru was being drug from the Aburame's complex by Kiba, who just waved goodbye. Shino sighed.

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Kakashi slowly made his way through the curvy hallways of the Hokage Tower, still reeling from Gai's new romantic interest choice. As he came to the curve that would, ultimately, lead him to Naruto's office he could hear voices in the hallway ahead of him. At first they were muffled, and Kakashi just figured they were coming from the room he was walking toward. The closer he got, the less those voices reminded him of anyone in the office. Kakashi peeked around the corner, careful to keep himself hidden, when one voice rang out above the other.

"He can't be set free! He can't be trusted." The males voice was silenced by a female's urgent and hushed voice.

"You have no idea what Naruto-sama has learned. _Do not_ go in there and shoot your mouth off, Teushi!"

Teushi let out a "Tch!" before moving further down the hall.

Kakashi rounded the corner carefully and began walking down the hallway. When he reached the end where Naruto's office was, he saw there was no door on the doorway. Through the opening he could see Tsunade gripping the front of Konohamaru's chuunin vest and holding him up off the floor. Naruto was trying, desperately, to free him with Sakura rambling at her side.

The two people who were talking in the hallway, which Kakashi now saw were council members, were paused at the doorway. When Tsunade noticed the two people standing in the doorway, she froze, as did everyone else in the room.

"Um…are we interrupting?" The woman asked politely before stepping into the room and eying the broken windows and door. "Teushi, take note we need some new windows and a new door…"

Teushi's lips curved into a snarl as he walked into the room himself. They each took a seat in front of Naruto's desk and folded their hands in their laps. "Nice breeze." Teushi commented sarcastically as Naruto hurriedly sat down at his desk and tried to act as if nothing ever happened.

Tsunade, Sakura, and Konohamaru tried to act the same, just failing miserably. Kakashi paused, not knowing if he wanted to enter the room or leave before anyone saw him –

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, sensing his presence.

- too late for that. Kakashi sighed and entered the room.

"Sasushi-sama," Naruto began, "Is there…is there something…" The young Hokage wasn't quite sure on how to approach the woman, being a member of the council and, therefore, above him in rank on some matters.

"We were wondering, Naruto-sama, what you found out during your jutsu." Sasushi scanned the room, smiling to herself as she passed over the faces of Naruto's supporters. "The council would like a full report on what the mind of Uchiha Sasuke is like."

"In other words, is he good or evil?" Teushi asked, as blunt as always.

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he gauged the older man, watching him intently. "He's good." The blonde all but growled out. "I can promise you Sasuke won't harm any Konoha shinobi. He's paid for all past crimes."

"That's all well and good, but you do understand we're only going on _your_ word." Teushi was picking at his nails, looking bored. Sasushi sent a glare his way before unfolding her hands and pulling a piece of paper from her kimono. She laid it on the desk and slowly slid it toward the Hokage.

"This, Naruto-sama, is simply asking for your guarantee that he will no longer harm anyone and, if the worst occurs, you give us your word he will be handled accordingly." When Naruto just stared, blank-faced, at the woman, Teushi cleared his throat.

"If he kills any Konoha shinobi _or_ civilian without a worthy cause, you, as _Hokage_, will be expected to kill him." Teushi stood up, motioning for Sasushi to join him. "As the saying goes, an eye for an eye."

Sasushi stood up, gave Naruto a slight smile, and walked with Teushi from the room.

A few moments passed before Naruto moved, his face set in a frown, his eyes cold. When he finally moved, Sakura was the first to his side, but Naruto waved her away. When Tsunade's mouth moved to say something, Naruto held his hand up to silence her.

"Granny Tsunade, order the ANBU to watch over Sasuke. Make Sai the captain of the surveillance team. If he so much as puts a toe out his front door, make sure Sai is the one who will detain him. Tell them that, until further notice, Sasuke's under house arrest, meaning he can't _leave_ the house." Naruto took a deep breath before turning to Sakura. "Who's watching him now?"

"Tarezu and Kanji, but –"

"Good. Don't let them leave until Sai has him under his team." Sakura nodded, her eyes still showing she had something to say, but she let it go for the time being. "Kakashi-sensei, I need a favor."

The girls left the office, off to do what they were told, and only the boys remained. The jounin stood in front of the desk and awaited his orders while Konohamaru stood beside the desk, listening intently.

Naruto looked up at him, a small smirk playing on his lips. "Feel up for an A-rank?" Kakashi's eye crinkled into a smile. "I need you to find out what's _really_ going on in that council. I'm sure that you can figure _something_ out, right sensei?"

"Yes, Naruto-_sama_." Kakashi disappeared and Naruto turned his gaze on Konohamaru.

"Now, Konohamaru, what was so important you had to break a door _and_ a window to tell me?"

Konohamaru looked offended and took a few steps toward the desk. "I did not break that door…it was broken when I got here."

Naruto looked unconvinced. "Uh-huh…"

"No, seriously…I just knocked it down. I will admit to _one_ window. The Old Hag broke the other one…by using me!"

Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose. "Who broke the door, then?"

Konohamaru shrugged. "I dunno."

Naruto pinched it harder. "That brings us back to my original question."

The young chuunin took a seat in front of the desk and leaned back in the chair. He waited for Naruto to look up at him before speaking. He needed his 'nii-chan's' full attention for this one. When Naruto finally looked up, Konohamaru linked his fingers together and placed his hands in his lap, looking very professional…just like his grandpa would have.

"I would like to apply to be your personal bodyguard."

Naruto looked unmoved. "I already have two."

"No, you have one ANBU and a very babyish chuunin. I'd make a better guard than him." Then, as if an after-thought, Konohamaru added, "You're _supposed_ to have three. _Grandpa_ always had three."

Naruto snorted. The only chuunin that could be his personal bodyguards were ANBU chuunin. "That 'babyish chuunin' is an ANBU guard. You, however, are not an ANBU."

Instantly Konohamaru became defensive. His hands began fidgeting nervously. "Bu-But…I'd make a great one, Naruto-niichan!"

"Konohamaru," Naruto began, but the chuunin stood up and slammed his palms on the desk, making it shake.

"I can't believe Iruka-sensei was right! He said you wouldn't let me apply either, that I'm not _good enough_! Everyone's against me!"

The Hokage eyed his friend – his _little brother_ – carefully, seeing a lot of himself in Konohamaru's eyes. They were the same, in most ways. And, if anyone was going to show Konohamaru a path that didn't involve an unhealthy daily dose of pranking the village – at least not _as much _pranking – Naruto was the one who could do it. Knowing that it wasn't such a great idea to go against the council's wishes, especially not with everything else going on, Naruto was close to denying the boys request. But something told him that allowing Konohamaru to join his side wouldn't be a bad thing. Besides, Konohamaru kept saying he would take his place someday. Naruto took a deep breath and prepared himself for the loud yell that would soon erupt through the room.

"All right Konohamaru," Naruto began, pausing as the chuunin let out a squeal of excitement. "Since you're the newest, you'll have to take some commands from Kanji and Tarezu, especially during battles when I'm already occupied. But you will be the one who stays closest to me, alright?"

Konohamaru put his hand to his forehead in a salute, his smile reaching ear to ear. "Yes, sir!" The chuunin bounced around the desk and wrapped his arms around Naruto. "Thank you, Naruto-niichan! You won't be sorry!"

Although nearly having all the air pushed from his lungs from the hug, Naruto managed a weak, "Don't mention it."

The boy pulled away, still smiling. "What should I do first, Naruto-_sama_?"

"Don't call me '_sama_', first of all. Second, get me some miso-pork ramen." Konohamaru scowled. "Don't start or I'll demote you!" The young boy scrambled out of the room quickly.

Naruto looked toward the pictures of the previous Hokage and smiled when his eyes settled on his father's picture. "How am I doin', Father? Hopefully as good as you did."

--------------------------------------------------

Sasuke was pacing the room, like a lion in a cage waiting for a meal. It was unnerving for the two ANBU standing guard to watch him, but they stayed silent. Tarezu was having the most trouble, his hands sweating from the anxiety. What the other ANBU said about him was right; he wasn't a good enough ninja to protect the Hokage, especially when he got nervous just guarding an S-class criminal. Kanji was sensing his discomfort, but couldn't do anything for him. They were ANBU and needed to train their minds and emotions as much as their bodies and jutsu, the young chuunin needed to learn that on his own or he'd be demoted. Either way, the Hokage would have someone who could, and would, protect him.

They both sensed a presence climbing the stairs and turned their gaze toward its source. The Hokage's assistant, Sakura, emerged from the stairwell, her hands wringing together nervously. When she looked up and saw them, she tried a weak smile.

"Sakura-san," Kanji said. "Is everything alright?"

From in the room, Sasuke heard the guards speak Sakura's name. He walked toward the doorframe, only to have a very nervous ANBU stand in his way. In a flash, Sasuke could have the ANBU pinned against the wall, unable to move, but thought better of it. Instead he stopped in his tracks and said Sakura's name. When the pink-haired kunoichi poked her head in the door, Sasuke took a step toward her.

"Can I leave this damn room now?"

"As soon as your ANBU guards get here." She said, worry present in her voice.

"Anyone I know?" Sasuke asked, not caring if she was worried. He was anxious.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura leaned against the doorframe, her fingers still fidgeting in front of her. "Do you remember Sai?"

Sasuke's mouth actually dropped open. "My pitiful excuse for a _replacement_, that Sai?" Sakura glared at him, her fingers stopping their fidgeting and forming a fist.

"Don't talk about Sai like that! He is our friend and he protected us." She paused to take a deep breath before saying, "He saved Naruto when _you_ tried to kill him!" Instantly, when the words left her mouth, her hands covered it up. She breathed out an apology, but the words already stung Sasuke, making the guilt of what he'd done to Naruto not even three hours ago more painful.

"Hey, ugly hag?" A deep voice asked from the doorway, making her turn around, hands still covering her mouth but a glare setting into her eyes. "Are you talking about me?"

Sai hadn't changed much in the five years since Sasuke had seen him, still the same haircut and blank expression. Except now, Sai had taken on his morbid excuse for a smile and his clothes were the traditional ANBU uniform. Sakura looked more relaxed with him than she previously had been with Sasuke, which made the Uchiha slightly jealous.

"Yes, Sai." Sakura smirked, realizing the man was just joking. "You're in charge of his surveillance team, right?"

"Yes." Sai looked past her to Sasuke, receiving a glare. "Sasuke-san, do you remember me?" That fake smile was back, making Sasuke's stomach lurch and his hands ball into fists. How anyone could feel more comfortable around a man like that was beyond him. He found Sai annoying and useless, two things he never could handle properly. The urge to punch something, to fight, was wearing thin on Sasuke's nerves.

"Unfortunately." His eyes began turning red, the Sharingan activating. If he couldn't actually fight him, Sasuke figured he'd just _play_ with him a bit. Sai remembered all too well the effects it could have and looked away, Sakura glared at Sasuke intently.

"Don't." She warned, her fists twitching at her sides. "Whatever you're thinking of doing with that Sharingan, Sasuke, _don't_."

"Or what, Haruno?" The ice was back in his voice, something Sasuke wasn't actually aiming for. He watched the way Sakura shivered and wished he hadn't been as cruel when he spoke.

Sakura shivered again as she watched Sasuke's Sharingan begin to spin and turned for the door. "You are acting just like Itachi, Sasuke. Is that really what you want after you went so far to rid yourself of him?"

As she walked from the room, her hands lingering on the doorframe until it could no longer, Sasuke felt the words like a kick in the chest. He sat down, hard, on the hospital bed, his hands running through his long hair. He didn't move until Sai grabbed his arm and lifted him off the bed.

"C'mon, Uchiha, let's go to your new home." As Sai practically dragged Sasuke down the corridor, he let his fake smile out again and looked at Sasuke, his head tilted to the side. "I'm sure we'll be friends. Naruto said I'm good at making friends, now."

* * *

Hey peeps, hope you're enjoying it! Remember, reviews are a sure way to get the Easter Bunny to bring you the _good_ candy! XD 


	10. Chapter 9

**Inevitable  
Chapter Nine**

Kiba walked, slowly, into his sister's office. Hana's veterinary practice, which helped the Inuzuka clan out more than the rest of Konoha mostly, was in the front of the Inuzuka's property. It was actually the first building you came to before reaching the large ranch they called home. He could hear various animals making their noises in the cages, which were in the back room. In the front room, his sister was seated at her desk, a large burly stray dog on the table behind her, as she typed into her computer. She glanced up at her brother briefly, motioned for him to wait, and continued typing.

Once done typing, she stood up and walked around the table with the dog, giving him a friendly head-rub as she passed, and grabbed a bottle of clear liquid off a shelf. Using a needle lying on the shelf next to the bottle, she drew out some of the liquid and walked back toward the dog.

"Don't move," Hana cooed, patting the dog's fur as she moved toward his hind leg. "This is going to make you feel better."

The dog never moved, didn't even breathe too deeply, as the needle went in. Kiba was always amazed by the way Hana handled the animals, as if she had this natural way with them that kept every animal she met calm and collected. Even Shino's bugs seemed calmer around her. When she called for her assistant, a cousin of theirs, to lead the stray to his cage in the back room, Kiba came over and sat on the table the dog had vacated.

"Hey sis!" Kiba said, smiling.

"You want a shot, too, Kiba?" Hana joked, waving the needle in front of him.

"Depends," Kiba said, sticking his nose up. "What's in it?"

Hana threw the needle in the specialized trashcan before answering her brother. "Just a low-grade antibiotic."

"Nah," Kiba said, waving his legs over the edge of the table, "I don't feel sick today."

Hana came back to stand in front of her brother, a smirk playing on her face. "Too bad, I was hoping to inject you with _something_." Kiba frowned at her and could have sworn he heard Akamaru laugh. She propped herself on the table beside him and nudged him with her shoulder. "What's wrong, Kiba? You look like you have a question."

The brunette's face turned red, making his facial markings look as if they'd spread across his nose. He glanced nervously at his sister with his peripheral vision and began tapping the metal table in an offbeat rhythm. "Um…"

"Kiba?" Hana nudged him again with a little less force than last time before giving Akamaru a questioning look. The dog just shrugged, which only nin-dogs seem to know how to do, and lay down.

"So, um…you know me and Hi-Hinata had a…um…date, right?" Hana nodded. "Well, um…it was kind of, ya know…bad."

"The date was bad? What happened?"

Twenty minutes later, Kiba stopped rambling about his date, and Hana's ears were ringing. She almost regretted asking in the first place. She took a deep breath, gave Kiba's shoulder a squeeze, and smiled.

"If she kissed you, it means she likes you. Women don't kiss men they don't like."

Kiba's face brightened a little, but he still didn't look her in the eye. "That's what Shino said."

"Well," Hana smiled. "Shino's a smart guy."

Kiba smiled a little and jumped off the table. Akamaru stood and followed his master as they both walked toward the front door. A lady with a stray black cat was entering right as Kiba walked out.

"Thanks, sis!" Kiba yelled before running toward the forest. A few moments later he looked at Akamaru and smiled. "Let's go for a walk, boy."

* * *

Even a stubborn egotistical bastard like Uchiha Sasuke had to admit the apartment Naruto reserved for him was perfect. The view of the park, especially during the summer months, was breathtaking. The only thing wrong with his apartment was the dark haired man in an ANBU uniform standing in his kitchen and giving him one hell of a fake – and _creepy_ – smile.

"You can _leave_ now, Sai." Sasuke hissed out, watching the other man rummage through his kitchen cabinets, which were obviously empty. He stopped for a moment, hand poised holding a cabinet door open, head positioned to look in, when his eyes darted over to Sasuke. A small smile crept on his face, slightly creepier than before, and shut the cabinet door. He turned his body, leaning back against the counter, and crossed his arms. It was as if Sai was trying to copy Naruto's usual leisurely stance.

"Naruto talks about you a lot." It wasn't really a conversation starter it was a statement. Sasuke resisted the urge to shudder at the blonde's name. "Before he became the Hokage, he would get in these moods – Sakura called it melancholy – where he'd talk about you for hours."

Sasuke tried, and tried hard, to maintain his current icy stare and uncaring stance. It was wavering, however, but only slightly. Someone who didn't know him well enough, someone like Sai, wouldn't be able to see it. "That's really interesting. You can leave now."

"He said you were important to him. Best friends." Sai was studying him, Sasuke noticed. Studying the way he reacted or lack thereof. "Sakura mentioned she always thought it was more than that." Sasuke's eyebrow arched of its own accord. "She was right, then?"

The Uchiha glared, intensely, at Sai, who remained unfazed. Their gaze remained locked for a few moments before finally breaking. Sai uncrossed his arms and pushed himself off the counter.

"Later tonight someone will bring you some food. Until Naruto-_sama_ decides you can leave this house –" Sasuke gave a start at that. "- you'll have to rely on us ANBU getting your meals. Oh, and someone will bring you some clothes, I'm sure."

"Why can't I leave this house?" Sasuke said through gritted teeth, his hands fisted at his sides. He _thought_ he'd be free. It's what Naruto promised him, wasn't it?

Sai shrugged. "My orders were clear."

Sasuke went to ask another question, but Sai had already vanished. He stood still for a while, his brain not fully comprehending what his so-called _replacement_ had told him. _House arrest_? Was this Naruto's form of punishment? Sasuke ran a shaking hand through his hair as he sat on the couch in his living room. The apartment was nice enough, big enough, for him to live in for a while. But the truth remained that Naruto promised him freedom, and the idiot never went back on his word.

He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, as his hands fisted in his hair. "Naruto," his voice breathed out, remembering the intense kiss and the heart-felt words echoed through that hospital room. It was so surreal, yet so much like a dream come true.

…_whatever game you're playing will not work!_

But what game was he playing? It wasn't a game, it was reality, destiny, and Sasuke was saving the only person he'd ever truly loved from being hurt again. It was a noble cause, even if he didn't go about it quite right, but what else could he have done? Naruto wasn't easily swayed, that was common knowledge. Sasuke had to make the blonde go away willingly. He hurt Naruto a little to save him from a bigger hurt later.

None of that fixed what Sasuke was feeling now, like his heart was being ripped from his chest. Like his soul was being carved out with a rusty spoon. Like…like Naruto's bright light and warmth was being slowly drained from him. Sasuke felt like he was dying, and it was scaring him.

* * *

It was only because Naruto asked her that made Sakura take food and clothes to Sasuke. Nothing he wore, until he was released from his house arrest, would bear the Uchiha symbol, but Sakura decided he'd have to deal with it. She was doing him a favor, and he wasn't in any position to get picky.

With the bag of clothes dangling off her arm and the containers and bags of food cradled in her hands, Sakura kicked the door. The kick woke up Sasuke who was lounging, quite un-Uchiha-like, on the couch. He sat up, startled, and glanced around the apartment. There was no longer bright sunshine cascading through the room via the large windows. Instead, there was a breathtaking view of a sunset and the room was blanketed in shadows and the hazy gray of late evening. Just how long had he been asleep?

Slowly making his way to the door Sasuke barely had enough time to move when Sakura's final kick, quite harder due to frustration, forced the door away from the lock. Sasuke was standing off to the side watching as shards from the doorframe littered his floor with his hands held up as if protecting himself. The look on his face, or, more appropriately, in his eyes showed shock beyond anything else. Sakura had the same expression on her face, except hers was mixed with an apologetic look. Two ANBU landed on either side of Sakura, the breaking door alerted them.

"Everything okay, Ms. Haruno?" One asked, surveying the damage. It wouldn't take much to fix, but the fact remained it was a new apartment she'd damaged.

"Naruto was right," The other said, who revealed himself as Sai when he lifted his mask. "You really do have super-human strength, bitch."

Sakura rounded on Sai, the food containers swaying dangerously in her hands. "Shut up, Sai!'

Sai crossed his arms and smiled his creepy smile. "Well, you did break the door, Sakura." He waved off the other guard before walking into the apartment, looking over the nearly broken door on his way through. He noticed that, towards the bottom, there was a dent that could have been fatal to the door. Sakura was holding back…a lot.

"I don't need your assistance." Sasuke hissed out, not wanting the man in his home ever again. "Just get someone to fix it and leave."

Sakura walked in after Sai and set the things she was carrying on Sasuke's countertop. After, she turned and leaned against the counter, watching the tension between the two men. Or, rather, the tension one of them held and the other simply shrugged off. It was quite entertaining, if one was into that sort of thing. Which Sakura totally was.

"Yes, someone should fix it. Quite an eyesore." Sakura noted that Sai was just playing with Sasuke, and she was amused. "You should have answered the door quicker."

Sasuke seethed but chose to ignore Sai. Instead, he went after the food, since he was starving. Simple onigri, just the way he liked it. The Uchiha was honestly surprised Sakura had remembered all these years later. Sakura was watching him, Sasuke noticed, as he pulled the food from the bag with his usual grace. He opened the Styrofoam containers slowly and pulled the chopsticks from their paper. Sai put two fingers against the base of his neck and began speaking into the microphone hooked to his ear. He was ordering someone to fix the door. When, after a few minutes, his visitors didn't leave the apartment, Sasuke raised his eyes and, looking through his dark bangs, saw them both staring at him.

"You two can leave now." Sakura rolled her eyes and turned away, grabbing Sai's arm and pulling him with her. "Thank you."

Sakura stopped dead in her tracks, forcing Sai to run into her. She turned, slowly, and looked at Sasuke, her eyebrow arched. "What?"

"Thank you," he repeated, setting his chopsticks down and reaching for the bag of clothes.

Sakura fought the urge to place a hand over her chest as her breathing hitched. He'd said the same thing to her, in the same tone, before he left Konoha. Of all the things he'd have to say to her now, it had to be that? After taking a few deep breaths, she nodded her reply and kept walking. Sai, although giving her a strange look, followed. Sasuke saw nothing out of the ordinary, as he was too busy scrutinizing over the clothes she'd brought him. They were just simple clothes, similar to what he used to wear at thirteen. And nothing had his clan's symbol tailored in.

Hearing the front door being fixed, Sasuke stood up, put the food away and carried the clothes to his bedroom. She neglected to bring him something to sleep in, which he noticed as he put the clothes away. Sasuke counted four outfits, more if he mixed and matched, but still only four shirts and four pants, and one pair of black sandals. Flopping down on the big bed in his bedroom, Sasuke left out a sigh and laid back. With one hand lazily placed on his chest, the other at his side, Sasuke slowly drifted off to sleep. The last thing he remembered was the sound of a frog from somewhere, he supposed it was near the creek…although it sounded awful close…

* * *

If there was one thing Gamakichi didn't enjoy it was being used as a surveillance toad. But, when Naruto, whom his father deeply respected (due to saving both Gamakichi and Gamatatsu's lives over the years multiple times), asked him for a favor, Gamakichi knew better than to say no. Which explains how the toad had transformed himself into a smaller body, hid out in the creek until the newly released Uchiha was alone, and then spied on him for the remainder of the evening. It wasn't a respectable mission, but it was all behind him now.

Summon toads were different from regular toads in many ways, some less obvious than others. The most obvious difference was they could talk. The less obvious, unless you actually knew a toad from its younger years to older years, was that they grew up. Gamakichi, in his full form, was nearly the size of Naruto's couch in width and nearly seven feet tall when on all fours. His brother, Gamtatsu, was nearly the same size, if not a little chubbier.

Naruto was sitting at his desk, the picture of his parents clutched in his hand as he slept on a stack of paperwork. Gamakichi snickered to himself before sliding his long, sticky tongue over Naruto's cheek, causing the young blonde to stand straight up, the picture left forgotten for the time being on the desk. His head whipped around his apartment, trying to find the cause of the sticky mess left on his face when he came face to face with a seven-foot tall toad.

"Ah! Gama-Gamakichi!" Naruto's hands flailed around as he yelled before toppling backwards over the chair he was sitting in. When he finally got himself together, and was sitting on the floor, his legs sprawled out in front of him he huffed and crossed his arms. "Don't do that!"

The red-orange toad was laughing quite loudly, his short arms over his belly as far as they'd go. "I'm…I'm sorry…just…couldn't…resist…"

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto said, bracing his hand on his knee to get up. "What'd you find out?"

"Nothin' much, blondie." The toad was sitting back on all fours, his laughter ceasing for the moment. "He didn't do much but glare at that Sai kid, eat, and sleep. I dunno what you wanted, kid, but nothing interesting happened."

Naruto frowned a bit before padding into the kitchen and grabbing a container out of the fridge. He threw the small package at Gamakichi. "There, it's a thank you, but don't tell ol' Boss Toad I gave it to ya."

Gamakichi eyed it curiously before opening it up. Neatly aligned inside were rows and rows of dragonflies, all preserved under a thin plastic seal. The toad's eyes lit up as he stared at his next great, if not illegal, meal.

"How'd you get 'em, blondie? Dragonflies are rare here."

"Shino owed me a favor." Naruto said, shrugging. Dragonflies were rare in Konoha. The village maybe saw ten a summer. The Aburame clan had been desperately collecting the dead insects for several years now to use the DNA in an attempt to repopulate the species, and Naruto had now taken a good twenty for his own personal use. He felt slightly guilty, but his little mission for Gamakichi was more important than the life of insects…at least to himself.

"That's one hell of a favor. Ain't your friend an Aburame?"

"There's another ten dragonflies if you will offer to help me out for another night." Naruto tapped his fridge and smirked, knowing Gamakichi would never turn down a rare meal. He had a penchant for fine and illegal foods. Sighing, Gamakichi nodded before sneaking a dragonfly from the container. The food was too good to turn down a bad mission.

When the toad left for the night, Naruto sighed and slowly made his way to his bedroom. He found out absolutely nothing about Sasuke, or any of Sasuke's emotions. It was rather disappointing to say the least. Neither boy was ever good at expressing what they were actually feeling. Neither was good at words or talking in general, they usually just used their fists to communicate. But this time was different. This time they couldn't just destroy a training ground to get past whatever they were feeling.

Flopping down on his bed and letting himself lie sprawled out on the soft mattress, Naruto tried to think of the next step, the next phase of his plan. He knew he wasn't Shikamaru, he couldn't stop and think two hundred steps ahead, but he was Naruto, he was clever, and he'd come up with something. Even if it was spur-of-the-moment, which it more often was.

* * *

Kakashi weighed his options carefully for his new mission. There were several routes he could take to get the information, but only two or three that seemed actually feasible. He finally, after much deliberation with his clone, decided on option two: hide in the walls and listen. It seemed like a pretty decent idea, especially since they were having an unscheduled meeting that they even sent the ANBU guards home for.

As the jounin situated himself within the walls, with two clones at two other points in the room, he listened intently for any words concerning his ex-student and current Hokage.

There were five council members in the room, their usual number. He could hear the various voices talking, two of which he could recognize. They seemed to be the two most adamant of the group. Sasushi and Teushi were arguing, but it seemed the other three council members thought nothing of it.

"We cannot condemn him just because of what _might_ happen!" Sasushi said, her voice taking a shrieking tone.

"But, Sasushi, do you think we should just let him free?" Another female asked.

"No, not at all. I think that he should be watched and that the Hokage take an active role in making sure he's not going to harm anyone. With that said, however, I still do not think we should treat him like a common criminal." The other voices began to question her, but she silenced them all before continuing her point. "He never killed anyone from Konoha."

"Did you forgot about how he tried to kill the Hokage _twice_?" Teushi voiced, anger present in his voice.

"He wasn't the Hokage then." Sasushi said, frustration in her voice. "And if Naruto-sama doesn't want to hold it against him, then neither should we. Who better to be the Uchiha's judge of character than his teammate and friend?"

"How about someone who _doesn't_ have a biased opinion?"

"Teushi, you are an ignorant fool!" Sasushi hissed out making the other members gasp. "You aren't even a ninja and yet you think you can determine right from wrong?" Kakashi heard her take a deep breath before continuing, her voice much calmer. "We should pull the Hokage in, ask him in person what he saw during his jutsu, and then decide from there. But I strongly disagree with executing the Uchiha."

Kakashi froze in his place. _Execute?_ The council wanted Sasuke dead? But why now? Why not five years ago when he first came back?

"I say we listen to Lady Sasushi." A male voice said, sounding like he did not want to be in this conversation at all. "Let's hear our Hokage out. He might have solid proof of the Uchiha's innocence."

Teushi snorted at that, but kept quiet otherwise. There was a murmur of agreement before Kakashi heard the rustling of the council leaving the room. He was ready to dispel the clones and leave himself when he heard the rustling of papers.

"Teushi," Sasushi said softly. "You'll be making a mistake, you know. Naruto won't stand for it, no matter what."

"I tried to talk you ignorant fools into this five years ago, but you wouldn't listen. Maybe if you see he's dangerous, maybe by losing an innocent villager or three, you'll see that the Uchiha can't be trusted. None of them could be."

The slamming of a door signaled that Teushi left the room. Kakashi weighed his options again, but decided confronting a council member wasn't such a great idea, at least, not this early in the game. When he heard the door open and close a second time, he dispelled the clones and teleported himself outside to, what he considered, a safe distance away. The instant he landed in the park, he could sense someone was watching him. Kakashi waited patiently for the person to show up, and he didn't wait long.

Sasushi was stealthy in her own right, being an ex-ANBU, and was one of the very few people who were able to startle Kakashi. When she placed her arm on his bicep, he jumped ever so slightly, making a small smirk appear on the elderly woman's face. She still had it. She pulled the jounin behind a large tree and began looking around nervously.

"Kakashi, listen closely." Sasushi said. Her voice was rushed and quiet, but she didn't have a lot of time on her side. "Do not tell Naruto of the meeting tonight." Kakashi raised his eyebrow, but nodded. "Teushi is a dangerous man, in the same league as Danzou. He'll get what he wants if he keeps after it long enough. He will convince the right person and Naruto will be helpless to stop him."

With his eyebrow still arched, he asked the very obvious question, "Why not tell him then?"

Another nervous glance and then Sasushi looked into Kakashi's face again. "Can Naruto actually control the Kyuubi or does he just _think_ he can? Everyone knows, now, that Madara Uchiha unleashed that demon on this village, can this Uchiha do the same?"

With that, the woman disappeared. Kakashi stood, stunned, and without a hope of knowing what to do. He just got himself thrust into a controversy bigger than himself, bigger than Naruto, bigger than the village itself. It wasn't just picking an option and following it through to the end. This wasn't just a normal A-ranked mission. This was _bigger_.

Kakashi ran a hand through his unruly silver hair and sighed. "What the hell am I supposed to do now?"

* * *

So...there it is. Chapter Nine. Remember, read and review as usual. XD Hope you enjoy!

**EDIT:** I realize, now, that in past chapters has been deleting my awesome line-breakers. Sorry about that. I'll try to fix them soon. Until then, if it seems that it jumps quite abruptly, pretend there is a line-break there...

Much thanks to my wonderful beta, who is made of win, SoulSpirtHeart! (I try to do that after each chapter, but I think I'm forgetting sometimes...)


	11. Chapter 10

**Inevitable  
Chapter Ten**

The laptop was slowly becoming overheated and the underside of it was burning Jiraiya's leg, where it was currently perched. He paid no mind to it, however, as he continued typing at a feverish pace. He was on a roll and no damn machine was going to stop it now.

Jiraiya had long since created a way to do everything with one hand; which meant, of course, that Jiraiya could use any jutsu he wants one-handed and had learned to transform his body into a body with two arms. The toad-sage is a very resourceful, and very clever, old man. This idea, the one which gave him an added arm, wasn't technically all his idea. Naruto had been a huge help in that department. Of course, he still used the other jutsu that typed everything he spoke, but sometimes it was just easier to type what comes to your head instead of forming it into verbal words first.

Pausing his typing for a moment to use the keyboard shortcut for save, another thing Naruto had taught him, Jiraiya shook a stray piece of white hair from his face. He glanced up, seeing the sun rising on another beautiful Konoha day, and realized he'd been typing for a good four hours. The laptop was burning his leg and nearly dead, as if the burning sensation was supposed to be a warning. Sighing heavily, he saved again, just for good measure, and closed the machine. He'd need to let it rest and charge before he started again, but he had one hell of a start. Four hours and twenty pages later, Jiraiya was well on his way to the eighth installment of the Icha Icha series, and the seventh wasn't even published yet.

He sat back on the park bench he was currently sitting on and let the jutsu fall. The pain in his left shoulder was back again, with a vengeance, as it normally was in the mornings. Tsunade called them phantom pains and said he'd experience them for the rest of his life, there was really no cure. With his good arm, Jiraiya rubbed at the painful stub. Only having one arm was a bitch, Jiraiya had said that on many occasions. But, in all honesty, Jiraiya was just glad to be alive. He could deal with a missing arm after a particularly horrendous battle. Even if the pain was, at most, unbearable.

The memories of that day, that fight, would still haunt him, but he took comfort in knowing he'd never have to repeat it. As far as he could remember, he'd only ever had three apprentices, and he now knew where all three of them were. Pein was dead, Minato was dead, and Naruto was the Hokage, and he could live with that.

Feeling a presence, Jiraiya looked up and saw Tsunade standing in front of him. She paused to watch him still rubbing the painful stub and grimaced.

"Still hurts, huh?"

"Yeah." He tried to shrug, but it was harder with only one good shoulder. Instead, he offered her a weak smile, which she didn't buy.

Her eyes showed an emotion he couldn't quite name as she sat down beside him, opposite the side he put the laptop, and began examining the stub. "I could try to deaden the nerves there. It might do something."

Jiraiya did a half-hearted shrug again and shook her off his missing arm. "I'm fine, Tsunade. Really, I'm fine."

She scrutinized him again. "You sure?"

"Yes, Tsunade. I am sure." Jiraiya said, over-pronouncing each word to emphasize his point. "I promise."

She snorted, but sat back anyway. "It'll be three months really soon, you know?"

Jiraiya looked at her, slightly puzzled, until he figured out what she was talking about. "Oh, Naruto…yeah, it will be, won't it?"

"I made the right choice." Tsunade said, letting the sentence hang there. Jiraiya wasn't sure if it was a question or a statement, so he didn't reply. The look in her eyes kind of made him think it was more of a statement.

She may have never reconsidered or regretted making Naruto's dream come true, but that didn't mean she, sometimes, wondered if the council allowed her to choose him for the right reasons. Reasons she, at this moment, couldn't quite figure out. But she was damn sure going to try. She could feel Jiraiya still watching her intently, so she decided to tell him what she tracked him down to tell him in the first place.

"Jiraiya, the council…I think they're trying to start some trouble."

"With who?" It was a good question, an honest question, but Tsunade found it really hard to say the answer.

The pause she took seemed to last forever, yet not nearly long enough. "They're messing with Naruto." She glanced at Jiraiya's face, only to see the determination and raging war built up in his eyes. He was angry, but she couldn't blame him. They both held Naruto close to them, especially since they'd told him the truth about his parents. If someone was messing with their pride, their joy, their god-child (only because Jiraiya said she always took care of Naruto like a god-mother is supposed to), they will answer to Jiraiya and Tsunade.

"Well," he growled out. "Who do I have to put a hurtin' on this time?"

* * *

It had been three days since Sasuke's house arrest began, Naruto noted as he gazed absentmindedly at the calendar on his desk. Instead of worrying so much about Sasuke, Naruto had dived head first into his Hokage work, focusing entirely on the tasks at hand.

Sakura fluttered into his office, scratching at her arm a bit and plopping down in the seat in front of his desk. He glanced at her briefly before finalizing a paper. Setting it to the side, he looked back up at her and raised an eyebrow. She didn't say anything at first, just watched him.

"You're different." She finally said. He cocked his head to the side and gave her a questioning look. "Since you did that jutsu, you've been different. Are you ever going to tell me what happened?"

"Nothing happened." He said, shrugging it off and pulling out another piece of paperwork. He knew that he wasn't acting like the same Naruto, but it was to be expected, wasn't it?

"You're a bad liar," she sad very matter-of-factly. Then she stood up and walked toward the door. "I have a date tonight. I need time to get ready so I'm leaving early."

"Again?" Naruto asked, a smirk playing on his face.

She turned and gave him a knowing look. "You haven't figured it out? It means someone will have to take Sasuke his dinner." When the smirk fell from Naruto's face, she continued. "Konohamaru's off tonight and you can't just send random ANBU…guess it'll have to be you."

He tried to say something, to talk his way out of it, but she just shook her head. "No, Naruto. Don't sweet talk your way out of this. Whatever happened between you two, and I _know_ something happened, needs to be fixed. Maybe talking will fix it?"

When she shut the door Naruto growled in frustration. How was he supposed to ignore the stoic Uchiha if he was forced to be in his presence?

* * *

Kakashi arrived at the clearing in the woods, exactly forty paces southeast of the gate at exactly sixteen minutes and eleven seconds after four o'clock, just like planned. He glanced around the small clearing and kept his eye peeled for anything out of the ordinary. For being an ex-ANBU agent, Sasushi sure did some strange things when trying to send him secret information. And, besides that, he hated being on time for anything.

He did exactly like Sasushi had asked and not breathed a word of that secret meeting to anyone. He'd had many thoughts against it, many thoughts that told him he was doing something wrong. He had very nearly let Jiraiya in on his secret, and was still considering it to this very second.

The first piece of information she'd handed him was a secret file on Teushi, who turned out to be nothing more than a daiyamo from a village very close to where Sound used to be. He'd come to the village as a young man, barely twenty-three, after his parents had fallen ill. They came seeking Tsunade's medical expertise, but was too late to benefit from it. Now, at age fifty-four, Teushi harbored a deep-seated hatred in his heart, a hatred that didn't quite make sense.

The jounin was slowly turning in circles in the clearing, trying hard to find the information she'd hidden for him this time. With everything he needed to think about, his thoughts got cut in half. One half dedicated to what he knew, the other to what he had to find. His mind ran over the information floating through his head and – _that space over there doesn't look quite right _– was trying to put it where it belonged. He'd long since – _nothing, just a lost kunai imbedded in tree bark_ – learned how to separate his thoughts in neat little compartments. _Maybe my Sharingan can find it_ – it wasn't hidden in plain sight, but that wasn't all that surprising - _a slight spark of something hidden barely_ – she was an ex-ANBU after all – _a manila envelope disguised to look like leaves and tree bark, clever._

Glancing around to make sure no one had seen him, Kakashi teleported back to his apartment and spread the contents on his desk. Another set of files on Teushi, but these were classified ANBU level. He didn't want to imagine how she'd gotten them.

There were files on the Uchiha Massacre in there, mostly about a woman named Shouko. The files claimed that she was Teushi's sister, and that she was also married to an Uchiha. Shishimaru Uchiha. Shouko, along with Shishimaru and their three children, were slain in the massacre.

…_you'll see that an Uchiha can't be trusted. None of them could be._

Everything made sense now. But it still didn't solve anything. Kakashi wondered what Sasushi might have in store for him next.

* * *

Gamatatsu perched himself on the railing of the bridge, watching as his brother kept mental notes of every move the Uchiha did. They were both transformed into a smaller version of themselves, much like they were when Naruto was thirteen, and hiding deep in the pond. It wasn't Gamakichi's idea to bring his brother along. He would have done perfect well with this mission on his own, but their father insisted. No one disobeys a direct order from Gamabunta.

"Brother," Gamatatsu began, nudging his brother with his knee. "What are we doing here? Why are we watching him? You can't see anything from down here."

"We can't get any closer, 'tatsu. He's an Uchiha, he'll sense us immediately."

"So what?" When his brother simply scoffed at him, Gamatatsu crossed his arms and huffed. "C'mon, 'kichi…I wanna go play. I wanna do something fun!"

Gamakichi gave a sigh before turning to his brother. "We can't right now. After we do what we came here to do. It's a mission, 'tatsu. Can't you understand that?"

Gamatatsu huffed again and turned away from his brother. He muttered something under his breath but Gamakichi ignored him.

Nearly two hours later Gamakichi spoke again. "Damn, I can't see what he's doing. I hate when he works at that countertop." Gamatatsu turned to his brother and then followed his line of sight. The orange toad was right. Sasuke was leaning against the counter fiddling with something. There was no way they could see from the angle they were at. "I wish I could get closer."

"I'll find out, brother!" Gamatatsu said, eager to help. Gamamkichi tried to grab at him, but toad legs aren't good for grabbing anything. And Gamatatsu was a quick toad when he wanted to be. He followed the yellow toad up to the landing of Sasuke's balcony and wished he'd transformed into something that could grip his brother.

Gamatatsu, in all his glory, was standing up on his hind legs, his front legs and face pressed tightly against the window pane of Sasuke's balcony door, peering inside. Gamakichi tried, again, to pull him away before Sasuke saw them, but failed.

"Brother, he's playing with a photo!" Gamatatsu said, loud enough for Sasuke to hear inside the apartment. The next thing those two toads knew, a pair of gleaming red eyes was peering down at them before the balcony door got ripped open. Gamakichi flailed back, falling out of the landing and into the high weeds of Sasuke's unkempt front lawn. Gamatatsu wasn't as lucky. Sasuke snatched him around the middle and squeezed tightly.

"You are spying on me, aren't you?" Gamakichi heard his brother give off a weak yelp before he heard the balcony door being slammed shut.

"Shit," Gamakichi hissed. "This is definitely not good."

* * *

Along the main street of Konoha, the one that leads from the main gate to the Hokage Tower, is a row of restaurants. Of course they're not the _only_ restaurants in Konoha, but they're said to be the best. Truth be told, they're merely a tourist attraction for visiting feudal lords and such. Unfortunately for Naruto, these restaurants, as expensive as they were, were the only ones that served the simple, plain food Sasuke loved so much.

Naruto debated between two of them, remembering Sasuke asking to eat in one of them once when they were a lot younger. He just couldn't remember exactly which one it was. He would start for one and then change his mind and start for the other one, repeating the cycle each time. If one were to watch him from afar, as many of the villagers were, they'd think he was dancing. All the while he'd been standing there he'd been trying to summon the memory of eating in whichever restaurant Sasuke dragged him and Sakura into before. The damn memory was coming in bits and pieces, and none of them were making sense.

For the first time, Naruto took notice of the villagers watching him warily, as if their Hokage wasn't feeling quite right. Naruto decided that Sasuke wasn't worth this aggravation and just headed toward the restaurant he was closest to. If Sasuke didn't like it then oh well. Too bad for Sasuke.

* * *

Sakura was glancing at the clock on the wall, impatiently awaiting her date. He was never late for anything, which is why his lateness this time was drawing on her nerves. As of right now, Neji was fifteen minutes late for their date, a date that _he _asked for. The waiter came buy, pouring her another glass of champagne, before asking her if she wanted to order an appetizer while she waited. She sighed and ordered a hot fudge sundae instead.

Twenty minutes later, Neji finally arrived in the restaurant. He was covered from head to toe in dirt and blood, his clothes torn up. Caught between being pissed off and concerned, Sakura attempted to look him over, but he pushed her hands away.

"I'm sorry, Sakura. My mission took a little longer than expected." He was wavering slightly as he stood there, and Sakura could tell it was from chakra exhaustion.

"Oh, Neji." She brushed a piece of his hair behind his ear and healed the cut on his cheek. "You boys never know how to complete a mission the normal way, do you? Has Naruto rubbed off on you in all those missions you two did together?"

Neji chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I guess."

Taking a look at her empty sundae and the empty champagne glasses, Sakura figured it wouldn't be much of a date anyway, at least not here in a fancy restaurant. "Neji," She asked, healing another cut on his hand that caught her eye. "Want to come back to my apartment? I'll cook you something and you can take a shower."

Neji raised an eyebrow but then noticed the stares and glares he was receiving. Realizing he was probably quite a sight in this fancy restaurant, Neji agreed and let Sakura lead him out the door.

* * *

Gamakichi was hopping as fast as he could through the streets of Konoha. Leave it to Naruto to _not_ be in the Hokage tower right when the orange toad needed him the most. If anyone would save his brother from the Uchiha, it was Naruto.

The toad stopped in front of Ichiraku and jumped on the seat, onto the table, and then onto Ayame's head. She froze, her body stiffening as she slowly looked for a place to catch her reflection. She found it in the grease her father fried the noodles. Her mouth opened to scream as she caught sight of the toad placed on her head, but her father was way ahead of her.

"Aren't you that toad that hangs around Naruto?"

Gamakichi felt relieved someone recognized him and smiled immediately. "Yes! Yes I am! I need to find Naruto right away!"

He looked from Ayame to the empty tables in front of him and back to Gamakichi. "Haven't seen him all day, have you Ayame?"

"N-no father. I-I haven't."

"Well…thanks anyway." Gamakichi said following a loud sigh. As he hopped off the tables and onto the ground again, he mused to himself, "Why is it he's the most important person in Konoha and no one ever knows where that kid is?"

* * *

With a whole container full of onigri and fried rice, Naruto made his way to Sasuke's apartment. He was nearly there, only one street away, when he heard his name being called from behind him. Naruto turned around he saw Kotetsu and Izumo running full speed toward him.

"Hokage-sama!" Izumo yelled, sliding to a stop in front of the blonde. "There you are!"

"We've been looking everywhere for you, man!" Kotetsu said, also sliding to a stop in front of him.

"What? Did something happen?"

"Well…" Kotetsu scratched the back of his head and looked to Izumo.

The chuunin took the hint and sighed at his friend. "That orange toad, the one that is usually nearly seven feet tall –"

"Gamakichi?" Naruto asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Yeah, that one." Kotetsu said. "He's been looking for you. Says it's really urgent."

"Oh…" Naruto said, looking around for the toad. "Where is he?"

The two chuunin exchanged looks before shrugging. "He went the opposite direction to find you."

Naruto took a deep sigh before setting Sasuke's food down at his feet and looking around the village. "It shouldn't be that hard to find a seven foot tall toad, should it?"

"Well," Kotetsu said, "he's in his smaller form, sir."

Naruto nodded and looked around again. This would be slightly harder than he previously imagined. "Did he say what he wanted?"

They shook their heads. The Hokage sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Gamakichi's secret mission was to spy on Sasuke, who Naruto was on his way to see right now. Of course, the toad couldn't have known that, when Naruto himself didn't know until a few hours ago. What could have been so urgent, so important, that Gamamkichi would abandon his mission to tell Naruto? Why not just send one of the smaller toads, his underlings, to tell Naruto instead?

The blonde told the chuunin to go back to the guards post, that he'd find Gamakichi himself. They promised to relay the message of where Naruto was if they saw Gamakichi first, but Naruto figured he'd see him before they would. When all else failed, surely the toad would return to his post, and Naruto would be waiting.

Not even five minutes after Izumo and Kotetsu left Naruto to sit on a bench right outside Sasuke's apartment, which was extremely quiet, as normal, he heard the hopping sound of a toad. Gamakichi was nearly out of breath and quite a mess as he jumped on Naruto's leg and slapped him across the face.

"Stay where you tell me you'll be, bastard!"

Naruto's mouth dropped open as he rubbed his cheek. "What the hell, 'kichi?"

"I've been searching all over this village for you! What kind of Hokage isn't there when people need his help?"

"You're not a 'people', 'kichi! You're a toad!" Naruto huffed, pushing the toad off his lap. "What is your problem, anyway?"

When Gamakichi didn't speak at first, Naruto gave him a quizzical look. "Gamatatsu…Sasuke has him."

"Huh?" Naruto picked the toad up and held him in front of him. "What happened to Gamatatsu?"

"He went with me this mission. Pop told me to bring him along. Gamatatsu was never very good at stealth, ya know? He got caught…I don't know what Sasuke would do to him." The orange toad sniffled as Naruto sat him down on the bench. "I would go get him myself, but that Uchiha scares the shit out of me."

Naruto chuckled. "I'll get him, 'kichi. I promise."

* * *

"So," Sasuke said, a smirk on his face as he looked down at the petrified yellow toad. "Naruto has been bribing your brother to spy on me?"

Gamatatsu nodded. "C-Can you let me go now? P-Please?" He struggled against the restraints, which were impairing his ability to grow bigger or smaller. He couldn't bust out of them, it was like they were sucking his chakra. In an effort to take his mind off the numbing sensation, Gamatatsu spied a few sticks of pocky sticking out of a bag on the kitchen counter.

"No. Not quite yet." Sasuke walked toward his window and spied the bobbing of bright blonde hair coming up the walk, towards his apartment. "Let him come find you, first."

"Mr. Uchiha, sir?" Sasuke turned around and eyed the yellow toad curiously. Gamatatsu was still eyeing the pocky. "While we're waiting…can you feed me?"

Sasuke groaned, but stuck one of the pocky sticks into Gamatatsu's mouth. He heard a mumbled thank you, but ignored it. At least it would keep him quiet for a few moments. Sasuke was getting quite tired of the incessant stuttering Gamatatsu seemed to be doing. Going back to looking out the window, he heard the bag rattling again. His head whipped around to see Gamatatsu's tongue wrapped around a handle in the bag and slowly pulling it closer.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm still hungry." He said around his tongue, which was still stuck to the bag. Granted Gamakichi was sitting on the kitchen counter, at the opposite end, but the fact that his tongue reached that far was pretty impressive. Sasuke shook his head and turned back to the window. Leave it to him to kidnap a toad that was more trouble than he was worth.

* * *

Sai shifted uncomfortably in his tree, still watching Sasuke staring out the window. The toad seemed to be okay, so far. He glanced to his side, where the Naruto clone was still perched.

"Gamatatsu can eat through anything, I swear."

"What are you going to do?" Sai asked.

The clone turned to him and smiled. "Don't worry, Sai. I can handle Sasuke. I only got better since he was in prison…he won't know what hit him."

When the clone 'poof'-ed away, Sai realized Naruto never told him any resemblance of a plan. Except that the ANBU should not get involved. So Sai kept his orders and told his men to stand down.

The bright blonde hair Sai could see through the trees became clearer as he neared the front door. He watched the tan hand knock on the door and merely a second passed before the Uchiha opened it.

"You have something I want, Sasuke."

The Uchiha raised his eyebrow and looked down at the food in Naruto's hand. "Apparently, you have something I want."

Sai sighed. Sakura had taught him about sexual innuendoes, and those two just said a mouth full. This was turning out to be one hell of a night.

* * *

Special thanks to my beta, SoulSpirtHeart.  
Much love to all of you for reading! Tell your friends! XD And remember to _review, reveiw, review!_


	12. Chapter 11

**Inevitable  
Chapter Eleven**

Sasuke opened the door, and Gamatatsu had never been happier. His over-large eyes widened even more as Naruto, his savior in disguise, was standing on Sasuke's front steps, holding a bag of food. It was, in Gamatatsu's opinion, the greatest momento fo his entire life. He was saved.

"You have something I want."

Hurriedly gulping down the last pocky in the package, Gamatatsu prepared himself to yell out Naruto's name, but Sasuke spoke too soon.

"Apparently, you have something I want."

As Sasuke stepped aside, allowing Naruto to ease himself into the apartment, brushing against the pale arm as he went, Gamatatsu began bouncing in his seat on the counter.

"Naruto! You came to save me!"

The blonde smiled at the toad before setting Sasuke's food on the counter. He held a finger to his lips, telling Gamatatsu to be quiet a while longer, before turning back to Sasuke.

"Why did you toad-nap one of Gamabunta's sons, Sasuke?"

A delicate dark eyebrow raised at the question as Sasuke shut the door. "Gamabunta? That huge toad you fought Gaara with?" Naruto nodded as he leaned back against the counter. Sasuke chose to let the question slide for now, even though the fact that the monstrous toad had children that size was a little shocking. "He was spying on me. On your orders, so I've learned."

Naruto scratched his cheek with long, tanned fingers before nodding again. "None of that gives you the right to toad-nap him."

"And being the _Hokage_ doesn't give you the right to put spying toads outside of my apartment." Sasuke retorted. They kept their distance from each other, not sure of how close either could get to the other before this interaction became something more. Sasuke walked toward his small kitchen table, taking a route that was furthest away from Naruto. "What were they reporting back to you?"

"This might surprise you, Sasuke, but I don't have to tell you a reason for anything I do anymore." The Uchiha, very taken back by Naruto's tone and choice of words, gaped at the blonde. Of all the things he'd expected Naruto to say, that wasn't one of them. "But, I will tell you it was nothing _personal_. Just a daily log of your goings-on, that's all."

"For what purpose?" Sasuke asked, keeping his voice as calm as possible. "For your sick kicks?"

Naruto chuckled. "No. Already took care of that, right 'suke?"

Refusing to give in to Naruto's bizarre form of taunting, Sasuke crossed his arms and took a stand in this fight. It was a fight he was determined to win. "Speaking of which, _Lord Hokage_, you didn't keep your word." He caught the slight confused look that flashed across Naruto's face and smirked inwardly. "And I thought the _Great Naruto Uzumaki_ always kept his word."

"What promise, Sasuke?"

"You promised you'd set me free when you found out I wasn't evil. You lied."

Naruto was caught between amusement and being taken back. He'd nearly forgot about that in the mission to rescue Gamatatsu. He did owe Sasuke an explanation for going back on his word, but it wouldn't be one that Sasuke would like.

"You heard nothing. You were delusional."

Sasuke stood, open mouthed and glaring, before pushing himself off the wall and taking large and quick steps toward Naruto. Smirking, Naruto pushed himself off the counter and prepared for the impending Sasuke. Within moments the two men were headfirst in a taijutsu match in Sasuke's kitchen.

--

Scratching the back of his head, admittedly confused, Sai contemplated every angle of this situation. From what all the books and talks with Sakura had taught him, they shouldn't be hitting each other. Didn't love mean that you didn't want to hurt each other? Wasn't that a rule?

Confused, he turned to a guard sitting beside him on the branch. "Why are they fighting?"

"Captain, shouldn't we be stopping them?" The guard said, ignoring Sai's question.

Sai shrugged and continued watching. "As long as it's just hand-to-hand, they should be fine. If they use any ninjutsu we'll have to break them up. Uchiha's not allowed to use his."

The guard nodded and turned back to watching. "It's been a while since I saw that blonde kid fight anyone."

Sai nodded in agreement. It had been a while, maybe Naruto just needed to expel some tension.

--

A long, pink tongue was stretched as far it could go in an attempt to hook Sasuke's dinner. Several times Gamatatsu was sure he'd had it, but the elusive bag slipped off his tongue each time. It was now he wished he'd gotten it pierced like his father. A few tongue rings sounded like a clever idea to hook onto the handles of plastic bags. Maybe that was why Gamabunta had gotten them done in the first place.

Bouncing a little closer to the bag, Gamatatsu tried again. This time he hooked it good enough to slide the bag a good three feet closer to him. With a few more adjustments and fancy tongue twists and positions, the yellow toad was happily munching onigri and watching a pretty heated taijutsu match that had long since spilled over into the living room.

Currently, Sasuke was pinned to the floor by Naruto as the two slung insults and swear words back and forth. The toad relished in the irony they hadn't changed all that much since they were thirteen in that aspect. The conversation had taken a turn from how slow Sasuke had gotten to how powerful Naruto was – which was mostly just Naruto boasting – to an incident that happened earlier that week, an incident Gamatatsu didn't have a clue about. He did get the hint that something _intimate_ had happened, but he still wasn't sure. The poor toad was naive about certain things in a human's life.

"Seemed like you were _enjoying_ it, asshole!"

"You _forced_ your – _hmpf_ – self on me, moron!"

Another set of punches, kicks, and head-butts before the scene changed, Sasuke had flipped himself on top of Naruto and slammed the blonde's head into the side of his couch.

"Why are you denying it, Sasuke? I _know_ everything!"

Sasuke stopped struggling and abruptly stood up. Naruto, confused, pushed himself off the ground and stared at Sasuke's retreating back.

Gamatatsu watched the man get closer to him with every step and began trying to shrink into the countertop. When a set of pale hands reached toward him, the toad closed his eyes and hoped the man would kill him quickly. He didn't open them again until he felt cool air and himself being sat on cold concrete. Cracking one eye open, he saw the surrounding trees and saw his brother hopping toward him. The Uchiha had let him go?

Naruto was equally confused on why Sasuke would release his bargaining chip, and showed it with his facial expression when the brunette turned around. "What the hell, Sasuke?"

"There, he's free, now leave." When Sasuke attempted to stalk to his own bedroom, Naruto grabbed his arm.

"Why?" A slight twist of Sasuke's head was all he got before he ripped his arm out of Naruto's grasp. "Oh, I see." Naruto said, rolling his eyes. "You're still pissy because I saw all your dirty little secrets, right?"

Naruto saw black and white lights before he realized Sasuke had hit him, pretty damn hard. Stumbling backwards, he felt hands fist into his jounin vest and throw him against a wall, which didn't help his 'seeing dots of light' problem at all.

"I told you that you didn't see anything, Naruto! You were _delusional_!"

"And you're in denial." Naruto managed before nearly passing out. Sasuke had hit him right in the temple, and he was lucky to still be conscious. He brought himself back around enough to see the desperate look in Sasuke's eyes. "C'mon, 'suke. You know as well as I do what I saw in there. The sketches, the dreams, and memories…you _love_ me, too."

The hands fisted in his shirt abruptly let go, allowing Naruto to slide down the wall and onto the floor. He grasped his head and willed the fox to heal him quicker. His head was killing him and was throbbing. But worse of all, he was still seeing those damn black and white dots.

When Sasuke spoke next, it was low and barely audible. "You weren't supposed to see any of that."

"Doesn't change the fact that I did, bastard."

They remained in an uncomfortable silence for a while, at least until the throbbing and the dots stopped and Naruto could finally stand again.

Sasuke was pressed against the wall, palms flat against the plaster, head bent down. He looked almost like he was trying to blend into the white-washed wall. His dark bangs were creating dancing shadows across his pale skin. Naruto couldn't help himself, he took a few steps toward the brunette before grasping his face in his hands. If Sasuke was surprised at the contact, he hid it well and just stared back at Naruto.

"You want this, too. I know you do. Why fight it so much, 'suke?"

Not sure if it was intoxicating scent Naruto seemed to naturally emulate or the use of his old nickname, but something sent Sasuke reeling. He nearly knocked the blonde off his feet with the intensity of needing their lips to meet.

--

Gamatatsu and Gamakichi caught in an awkward embrace when they met, which was only moments before Sai landed beside them. The two toads looked up at him, slightly confused on where he'd come from. They weren't exactly paying attention to their surroundings.

"Are you okay?" Sai asked, kneeling down to their level, kind of.

"Yeah." Gamatatsu faked a shuddering breath as if he'd been in the most traumatizing experience of his entire life. "He'd only give me _one pocky_, but I managed to get more when he wasn't looking."

Gamakichi snarled at his brother before smacking him upside the head. "And here I was thinking he'd be _torturing_ you, and he was _feeding you_?"

The yellow toad held his head protectively. "Only one, 'kichi! That was after he asked me a bunch of questions!"

"Great." Gamakichi sighed. "Now he knows about the plan. We failed our mission!" The toad threw his hands in the air, exasperated. "I'll never get those dragonflies now!"

Sai just stared at the toads, honestly confused. "I think you two can go…home now." He wasn't really sure where summons went after they were done being used, but he was sure they'd know what he meant.

"Yeah, yeah. Guess so." Grabbing his brother, Gamakichi started to hop away. "Tell Naruto thank you for us, will ya?"

Without giving Sai a chance to answer, the two disappeared in a puff of smoke. The ANBU captain shook his head and risked a glance in the window of Sasuke's apartment. He was rather curious about what provoked the stoic brunette into letting the toad go. At first he couldn't find either of them, but then his eyes landed on something moving in the darkened hallway. At first he thought they were still fighting, but he was wrong. Oh, so wrong.

Sasuke was pressed against the wall, Naruto's fingers fisted in his plain black shirt forcing his shoulders against the plaster. Sasuke's pale hands were laced in Naruto's blonde hair, not allowing the whiskered face to part from his. Sai took a minute to entertain the thought that Naruto didn't strike him as the dominant type. He watched as Naruto's tongue traveled from Sasuke's lips to his neck and felt himself heat up slightly.

It's not that Sai normally thought about relationships or sex where he was a major part of it, but he did venture to ask Sakura what the meaning and fascination was with other people. It was during these conversations that he'd learned of her feelings toward both Sasuke and Naruto, at one point in her life, and that she thought the two boys in question were more interested in each other than they expected.

That was the first time Sai had heard of a same-sex relationship. Immediately after the conversation, Sai began researching and reading books on the subject. He'd learned a lot. It especially intrigued him when he learned that, sometimes, those relationships are deeper, truer, than heterosexual relationships.

When he watched the way Sasuke and Naruto clung to each other while _making-out_, a term the inexperienced man had recently learned, he realized the book had been right. Even if they were denying it, even if they didn't realize it, they were deeply in love.

Sai didn't understand why that thought didn't settle quite right with him. He felt like he wanted to stop them, stop Sasuke, but he didn't understand why. Why was the sight of Sasuke passionately kissing Naruto making him want to break down the door and separate them quickly?

The next emotion to hit him Sai could name. Naruto and Sasuke pulled apart and Sai smirked, he felt relieved. It still didn't make sense, but it felt a lot more pleasant than the other un-namable emotion.

Jumping back into the trees, he watched as his blonde friend kept his gaze pointed toward the ground and briskly walked toward the main street. In the pouch on his hip was the book he needed, a dictionary of emotions that Sakura had bought him a few years ago. He'd learned a lot in that time, but the emotion that had overwhelmed him a few minutes ago plagued his mind. Flipping through, he kept seeing the two hidden lovers pressed against the wall in the dark hallway and the emotion filled him again.

At the same time his eyes fell on the perfect word:

…_jealousy._

--

Sakura turned the key in the lock and pushed the door to her apartment open, letting a battered and bleeding Neji in first. The long-haired Hyuuga smiled at her as he passed, positioning himself in front of her kitchen counter. She grabbed her medical kit on her way through and began healing and cleansing most of his wounds.

"What was the mission?" She finally asked as she pulled gauze from her kit.

"Just a search and rescue."

She raised an eyebrow. "And _this_ was the result?" She motioned toward the large gash on his arm.

"Well," he began. "Kiba was there with us."

Sakura paused, smirked, and nodded her head. Kiba was almost exactly like Naruto in the sense that he couldn't get anything done without hurting himself in the process. The dog-nin became the new troublemaker in their group when Naruto went into he ANBU, and had retained his title ever since.

"Speaking of Kiba…" Sakura said, busying herself with pushing Neji's sleeve up his arm. "Has he taken Hinata on that date yet?"

"Yeah. Apparently Murphy's Law was in overdrive."

Sakura smirked at his word choice. "What could go wrong did go wrong, huh?"

"Even Gai-sensei managed to ruin it somehow. Your old sensei was involved, too."

"Doesn't surprise me." She smirked. "Take off your shirt." Neji raised an eyebrow. "I can see the blood through your shirt, but I can't get to it. Take off your shirt."

He did as she asked, throwing it in a pile on the floor along with his vest. "Better?"

"Much." She began healing the wound there, lightly brushing her fingers against his pale skin. "You should take your shirt off more often."

Neji paused before asking why.

"You're so pale. You need more sun."

"I'm naturally pale." He said.

Sakura finished the healing and began putting her medical supplies away in the box. "Yeah, yeah. That's what Sasuke always said, too. But get him in a hot spring and he gets some color on him. So does Sai. You wouldn't be any different, ya know. I'll bet if I ask Tenten, she'd tell me –"

Neji interrupted her by placing a chaste kiss on her lips. "Fine, I'll try to get a tan. But if I burn, you're healing it."

Placing a finger over her lips, she inwardly smiled. Finally she'd gotten something out of him. Finally, she'd gotten that man to kiss her.

--

Sasuke could feel the delicious pain of Naruto scraping his nails against his chest and hissed into the blonde's ear. Naruto's lips attached to the pulse at the base of his neck, alternating between sucking and nipping the sensitive skin there. Every time the tanned fingers would brush against his curse mark, or Naruto's lips brushed over it, it sent a jolt of electric through Sasuke's body, making his back arch into his partner's body.

Naruto's dominance didn't last, as Sasuke regained a little of his lost composure in order to thrust the blonde into the opposite wall. Their eyes met when Naruto's back met the wall as Sasuke's hands dipped under his shirt and began feeling their way up his chest. Naruto grabbed the front of Sasuke's shirt and pulled him forward, their lips connecting rather forcefully.

A few more moment of heated, raw passion and Sasuke lost whatever barrier he was trying to keep Naruto behind. Moving his lips from Naruto's, he found the tanned ear and whispered.

"Take off your shirt."

For a second, Sasuke thought he was going to comply, until the blonde grabbed his pale wrists and pushed him backwards, into the wall they were previously against.

"No."

Not caring his face was flushed and clothes were rumpled, Sasuke let himself gape at Naruto. "Wha-what? What do you mean 'no'?"

Naruto took a ragged breath, which wasn't entirely due to weakening will power and ravenous passion attempting to break through, and pushed himself off the wall. Sasuke stood perfectly still, unbelieving, until Naruto reached his front door.

"This time," Naruto opened the door and took a step through, "you'll be the one left craving for something you need like air and was ripped out of you like a knife through your heart."

When the door shut behind Naruto, Sasuke grabbed the wall for support. He'd been so ready, so ready to let go and let Naruto in. Of course he deserved this, but if Naruto loved him like he'd said, then why would he want to leave Sasuke like this?

Slowly creeping to his bedroom he felt something burning behind his eyes. He hadn't cried in so long he'd nearly forgotten what it felt like, and was actually surprised to feel the tears slowly creeping down his face. Flopping down on his bed face first, he grabbed a pillow and buried his head in the coolness of the fabric.

"I…I'm sorry…Naruto…"

Roughly twenty minutes later Sasuke had cried himself to sleep.

--

The transformation Sasushi had taken on was impeccable. Even Kakashi, for a brief moment, thought she was nothing more than the trash that decorated the rougher part of Konoha. She sat down beside him in the shady bar, one way away from civilized society where they wouldn't be recognized or watched, and nudged him with her elbow. Kakashi did a double take when he realized it was the distinguished councilwoman.

"Should we retreat to a quieter place?" She asked, even masking her voice with her transformation. Kakashi nodded and they left the bar together, making it seem as if Kakashi had picked up a hooker rather than they were leaving to discuss a secret.

She let the jounin lead her to his apartment, knowing fully well it'd be a safer place than any other they could find. Once inside, she dropped the transformation that was slowly draining her energy. She wasn't as young as she used to be, and she was quickly realizing it.

"That was a risky move." Kakashi said, offering her some sake. "Transformations aren't completely undetectable."

"Those shady characters wouldn't be able to see through a plate glass window." She answered, making Kakashi smirk. "What did you think of those documents?"

Swallowing his sake in one gulp he sat the cup down and went over to where he kept the files she'd given him hidden. "Interesting. It's more a personal grudge against the name rather than against Sasuke himself."

"True, but it won't be easily deterred." She flipped through the papers he spread out on his desk until she found the one she was looking for. "Shouko was a beautiful woman, wasn't she?" Kakashi nodded. "It was a shame what happened to her and her family, but it wasn't the conspiracy Teushi thinks it is."

"I need to ask you a question." Kakashi said, taking a seat on the edge of his desk. Sure he was changing subjects rather abruptly, but it was an important one. "Why are you risking so much for this situation? Sure, it's important, but you could have fought him within the council."

"Kushina Uzumaki was a dear friend of mine. I let Sarutobi convince me to let Naruto in that orphanage and set up the decree, and I shouldn't have. That poor child had a rough life and I'm partly to blame for that." She paused and took a deep breath. "Now, when he's happy and respected, I refuse to allow some ignorant fool ruin all of that for a pointless vendetta."

The jounin eyed her curiously. "You're doing all this for _Naruto_?"

"Mostly. Don't get me wrong, Kakashi. If that Uchiha hurts anyone, I do agree that Naruto will have to take him out. Solely because I believe he's the only one who _can_ take him out. But, at the same time, I feel that kid needs to be given a chance."

"You were one of his main supporters when Tsunade applied to have him as her successor."

"True. It's because I see his potential. You've said it yourself, Kakashi. The kid has a unique ability to make friends. That is one ability that will count for so much more than physical strength in this world. Fifteen minutes into his initial meetings with the council and no one, except Teushi of course, had an objection." She smiled fondly. "Do you have any idea how difficult it is to win over arrogant old men?"

"You talked before about the Kyuubi. I was, quite honestly, surprised it didn't come up as a major issue with the council."

She gave a hearty laugh at that. "Oh, it was! But with Jiraiya and - I believe Naruto calls him Yamato? – we really didn't see it as a problem. Especially since we'd heard of his intense training. He's become quite skilled at suppressing it himself?"

Kakashi nodded. "There have been times Naruto has controlled his power in the three-tailed form. Fighting the Akatsuki during The Great War, Naruto knew he'd have to call on the fox to win. The control he possesses is astounding. No other jinchuuriki has had that level of control, to our knowledge."

"The problem still remains, however, that this Uchiha is a direct descendent of Madara Uchiha. This, unfortunately, is what makes Teushi's point valid and considerable." Sasushi fingered thought the documents and files, eventually finding a file on Shishimaru Uchiha, Teushi's brother-in-law. "Not all Uchiha's are vicious and out for blood, but to Teushi, they are."

…_you'll see that an Uchiha can't be trusted. None of them could be._

"In all honestly, Sasushi, we can't change his mind. But Naruto might be able to prove…"

"No." She interrupted. "It's his word with no physical evidence. All that we have to go on is what he _saw_, nothing more. Teushi will find holes in everything he says, I just know it."

"What about Jiraiya?" Kakashi offered. "He is, after all, Naruto's godfather. Maybe he could help."

Sasushi seemed to be in deep thought for a moment. "That man does have some pull over the council. Even Lady Tsunade would be able to lend _something_." She went silent for a second before an evil grin spread on her face. "Do you think Naruto would agree to take a truth serum?"

--

Udon was jerked, quite forcefully, into a patch of bushes right outside the Hyuuga Manor. He landed hard on the ground beside Konohamaru, who still had a hold on his arm.

"What the hell, Kono?" Udon hissed out, hoping no Hyuuga's heard them rustling around.

"Okay, Udon…here's the plan…" The teenager pulled a sheet of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it hastily. Udon's eyes widened. Konohamaru had actually thought this plan out in full? Meaning he might not get in trouble this time? "After last time, I'll be lucky if her old man let's us have supervised visits. So, instead of _me_ showing up to take her on our date…it'll be you."

Udon raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Kono, really, this isn't going to work. They can see through transformations."

"No, Udon. He'll think that _you_ are her date!" When Udon's eyebrow didn't drop to where it belonged, Konohamaru sighed. "Old Man Hyuuga doesn't know _who_ Hanabi's date is, only that she has one."

"So, you want me to act as her date just so you can see her again? This is pathetic. Just be a man and tell the man you're sorry."

"Sorry? Like he's going to accept an apology. I damn near got Hanabi _arrested_, Udon!"

Udon stood up and brushed the dirt off his pants. "Then maybe you shouldn't have tried to sneak her into a nightclub, idiot." Konohamaru frowned. "What am I supposed to do while you two are on your date? Hang around here in the bushes?"

"No, you can go with us. Take Moegi, we can double-date!"

Udon blushed for a moment, only Konohamaru knew of his intense crush on their teammate. If Moegi knew, she acted oblivious pretty damn well. But, the prospect of spending some down-time with Moegi did sound pretty good. "If you ask Moegi, I'll do it."

"Yeah, no problem." Konohamaru smiled brightly. "Now, go before someone thinks we're having sex in here or something." He pushed the blushing and nervous teenager out of the bushes and toward the Hyuuga Manor gate.

Luckily for Udon, it was Hinata that answered the door when he knocked. Hanabi's sister was a lot less stern, and a lot nicer, than their father. "Can I help you?"

Udon took a deep breath and swallowed hard before answering. "I-I c-came to take Ha-Hanabi on a d-date?" His answer came out sounding more like a question.

Hinata smiled warmly, knowing fully well what it felt like to be nervous, and called for her sister. Before Hanabi could reach the top of the stairs, her father was at the door.

"Who are you?" His voice boomed out, glaring down at the poor boy.

Udon spluttered and stuttered until his name finally fell out.

"What do you want with my daughter?"

"Father!" Hanabi scolded, racing in front of him and standing between her father and her _date_. "That's enough!"

"Move, Hanabi. I have a few questions." Not waiting for his daughter to obey, he knew her too well to think that would happen, he kept talking. "Are you, in any way, shape, or form, friends with, in every sense of the word, that fool Konohamaru?"

Hinata thanked whatever entity was listening her father was not that hard on Kiba. She did, however, know that if she'd kept her crush on Naruto and wound up dating him, her father would, probably, have been worse. After all, Konohamaru was a miniature version of Naruto…if not worse.

Udon's eyes widened for a moment before meeting Hanabi's. Taking a deep breath, knowing what he'd have to do, Udon answered. "No. That idiot is no friend of mine."

A moment passed before Hiashi lowered his guard and wished his youngest a wonderful night. He didn't, however, leave the door until he watched the two walk the length of the courtyard and exit the gate. Hanabi didn't touch Udon once, nor did she really speak to him. It actually seemed as though she was holding herself back from running.

Switching on his Byakugan, Hiashi saw, though the bushes, his daughter running toward another boy. Konohamaru. Hiashi's eyes narrowed. Did that chuunin actually think he could outsmart a ninja of Hiashi's level? Did he doubt the power of Hiashi Hyuuga's Byakugan?

Hinata had never seen her father run so fast. She was absolutely sure Hanabi wouldn't be allowed out of the house, without the supervision of either her father or her sensei, for quite a while. Wishing that Konohamaru was faster than her father, Hinata shut the front door. She didn't need to see what happened since she'd be hearing it all from her sister in a few minutes.

…she was right.

* * *

Heh, hope you enjoyed that. XD Remember, reviews are environment friendly!


	13. Chapter 12

**Inevitable  
Chapter Twelve**

In a small house, just south of Konoha's busy business district, sat Teushi. The man, nearing his seventies, was engrossed in a file with "Top Secret" written on the outside. Although he knew he wasn't to look in the file, it had never stopped him before. He knew the file well, including the order of the documents from previous times he'd taken it without permission. On this occasion he found what he was looking for quite quickly.

A small square picture, featuring the bright smile of a woman in her late twenties, was cradled between his fingers. He stared at it, his eyes brimming with unshed tears. Gently moving one thumb, careful not to move the picture a fraction, he gently traced the outline of her face.

Shouko Uchiha (Does he think of her as an Uchiha or as whatever her maiden name was?) was a beautiful and happy woman. Helpful and friendly, her neighbors loved her - as did Shishimaru Uchiha. Teushi could remember the exact moment his young sister, barely sixteen at the time, met her "Prince Charming". Shishimaru was leaning his body against the Konoha gate, looking bored, cleaning his kunai. Shouko, being sort of clumsy, tripped on her way through the gate. Shishimaru, ever the graceful Uchiha, caught her easily with one arm, a playful smile on his face. Two days later he tracked her down for a date. She didn't refuse.

Teushi sighed and shifted slightly in his seat. The tell-tale signs of unshed tears burned from behind his eyes as he placed the picture back in the folder. Folding his hands in front of him, the old man took a deep, shuddering breath. He knew what he had to do, what was the right thing to do, but nothing short of a miracle could accomplish it. The Uchiha had to suffer, to feel the wrath of a scorned brother. It made no difference which Uchiha started the massacre, which one actually carried it out, they _all_ needed to suffer the consequences.

--

Tsunade was busy, buried in one of her many medical books. Jiraiya was dealing with more pain than he should have been. Although a master ninja, constant phantom pains were something no person could deal with. Like having an itch you couldn't scratch, feeling pain in an arm that was no longer there was an irritating problem. She knew there was a way to deal with it. Several methods ran through her head, including killing nerves and severing their connection to the brain.

The light tapping on her door drew her attention away from her current book. Tsunade called out for them to enter and was honestly surprised at who emerged from the hallway.

"Sasushi? Kakashi? To what do I owe this pleasure?" Tsunade asked, shocked at seeing the two of them standing in her office _together_.

"I…well, _we_ have a proposition for you, Lady Tsunade."

Honestly surprised, the previous Hokage sat forward in her chair and eyed the two curiously (or suspiciously?). "And what could I help you two with?"

"You see," Sasushi started, smiling lightly at Tsunade, "I've come to realize that, no matter what our young Hokage says, no one will believe what he has seen inside the Uchiha's head."

"The councilwoman has come up with a pretty fool proof plan to convince all members of the council."

Tsunade raised her eyebrow at Kakashi, whose eye was crinkled up in a smile. "And what would that be?"

They both shared a look before answering: "A truth serum."

For a whole two beats it was silent in the room. Then Tsunade began laughing.

--

Konohamaru was late for work, but he had a great excuse. 'Old Man Hyuuga', as Konohamaru called him, was a relentless pursuer. It was all the chuunin could do to out-maneuver the elder jounin. It took him four hours and every transformation jutsu in his arsenal, but Konohamaru managed to hide out at Moegi's house until morning. Thankfully, Moegi's mom absolutely adores him, or that could have been a mess as well.

Taking the stairs three at a time, the young chuunin made his way towards the Hokage's office, only to see the door open and Naruto working silently at his desk. He glanced where Sakura was supposed to be sitting, only to see she wasn't there yet either. As Naruto's personal bodyguard, he was to be there _before_ the Hokage was. Mostly he arrived before even Sakura did. He was beginning to think he was insanely late, but it turned out Naruto was insanely early. Since when did Naruto get up before dawn?

He walked toward the door silently, hoping not to disturb the hard-working blonde. But Konohamaru wasn't necessarily very good at stealth, as last night's escapade clearly showed.

"You're late, Kono." Naruto mused from his desk.

"By a few minutes!" Konohamaru corrected him. "And you're early."

Naruto shrugged. "I got an early start."

"That's an understatement." Konohamaru said under his breath as he took his normal post, to the right of the Hokage. The chuunin liked it there. It made him feel like he was Naruto's 'right hand man' in an emergency. It gave him a sense of importance.

Naruto worked in silence for a while until he was finished. Before pulling another scroll in front of him, he glanced at Konohamaru from the corner of his eye.

"That's quite a shiner you got there, kid." His hand briefly moved in the direction of Konohamaru's eye.

The chuunin blushed and gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah…got in a scuffle last night."

It was Naruto's turn to laugh. "You call a fight with Hinata Hyuuga's father a _scuffle_? From what I heard, the man kicked your ass."

Honestly taken back, Konohamaru's mouth hung open. "How…how did you…"

Naruto laughed again. "Hinata told me. I saw her on my way here this morning. She's quite an early bird, you know."

Konohamaru scowled.

Sakura walked in then, breaking up the grimace on the young chuunin's face. Sakura looked happy, almost glowing. Naruto took notice immediately.

"What'd you do last night?"

It was Sakura's turn to scowl. "How is that any of your business?" Her voice took a new octave in her irritation.

"You look happy." Naruto noted, pointing a quill at her. "You're never happy this early…unless…"

"Stop referring to my sex life, Uzumaki." She shook a fist at him. "You're just pissed you're not a part of it."

Naruto smirked. "It doesn't matter. All men tell _someone_ about their most recent _conquest_. I'll get the scoop from someone."

"_Conquest_?" Sakura shrieked. "You're infuriating, Naruto! Infuriating!"

Naruto snickered, as did Konohamaru. She glared intently at both of them before remembering how she left the night before. It brought a question she was dying to have answered back in her mind.

Coolly, she sat on the edge of Naruto's desk. After waiting for him to return back to his work, she gave Konohamaru a wink and jerked her head in Naruto's direction. The young chuunin listened intently.

"So, Naruto. What happened last night with Sasuke?"

The Hokage was writing on a scroll, but the quill suddenly jug down in the paper before creating a large slice in the perfect parchment. The quill scattered across the floor, as did bits of parchment.

"That good, huh?" Konohamaru asked, walking over to pick up the abandoned quill.

Naruto didn't answer. He could feel his face turning red. Sakura took notice, as she usually did, and smiled to herself.

"Apparently it was that good. Or that bad." She began picking at her cuticles, casting sideward glances at her friend.

"Can we remove ourselves from the subject of _my_ sex life, Sakura?" Naruto asked, not at all surprised when his voice cracked during his sentence. "It was way more fun talking about yours."

Konohamaru exchanged a confused glance in Sakura's direction before raising an eyebrow at his 'big brother'. "Um…doesn't there have to be sex to have a _sex life_? Did I miss something, Naruto-nii-chan? Are you and the Uchiha…_dating_ or something?"

Naruto's face turned even redder and Sakura smirked. She was quite pleased with herself. At least, now, she was getting some answers.

"Well, I think it's safe to assume now that there was actual sex taking place."

"No, there wasn't, _Sakura_!" Naruto growled, very irritated. "There was no sex with that arrogant, egotistical, sadistic bastard!"

The large wooden desk shook with the force of Naruto's fists slamming into it. The scrolls, lined up perfectly in their holders, shook askew as the Hokage stood up and stalked from the office. Konohamaru was beyond shocked and confused, but Sakura sensed something else, something deeper. She patted Konohamaru on the shoulder as the scurried out to find Naruto.

She found him halfway down the hall, still stalking with his hands balled into fists at his sides.

"Naruto, wait up!" She jogged toward him, grabbing his arm when close enough. The blonde slowed down slightly, still irritated. "I'm sorry. I didn't think it'd piss you off."

Naruto sighed before stopping, almost having Sakura knock herself into him in the process. "It's so complicated!" He threw his hands up dramatically.

"If you don't want to talk about it, Naruto, you don't have to." She offered, hoping he'd choose to talk instead.

"No." He sighed heavily. "I think it'd be better if I did talk. It's just…what I saw and what he's saying…and then last night…"

"Start from the beginning." She offered, smiling lightly. He nodded and led her back toward the office.

After ushering Konohamaru out, he began explaining everything, from beginning to end. Sakura listened intently, knowing what he'd say before he did. She'd been his best friend since they were teenagers; she already knew this by heart.

--

The pencil slid across the paper with grace as lines of gray began taking form. First a shoulder, then the long line of an inner thigh; before long the image began looking like its subject.

Sai didn't draw people often. It was difficult to capture them when you were incapable of understanding their emotions. But, on this day, he decided to take a chance. Naruto leaning against the aged wood of the Team Seven meeting bridge appeared on his paper until the details began to take over. The layers in his bright blonde hair and even the shadows on his sun-kissed tanned skin. Sai knew them all from memory and drew them as if he'd been drawing Naruto for years.

It wasn't until he was finished he realized there was enough room beside Naruto on the sheet for another person. The person began pretty generic. Just a lean pale figure. He drew the person with an arm around Naruto, holding him close. It didn't look normal yet, Sai figured. He continued sketching until the person standing beside Naruto was himself.

Sai sat back in his chair, staring at the canvas on his easel. Something was off, not right. He erased his facial expression and tried again, but it still didn't seem quite right. Sighing, he tapped the pencil against the canvas, thinking about what could be added.

Naruto needed someone with a personality that clashed with his own; one that would enhance his good parts and even out his not-so-good parts. Maybe someone neat to match his messiness. Someone serious to match his goofiness. Someone tall and dark to go with broad and bright.

Focusing on his canvas again, Sai saw he'd already made the modifications. The dark eyes narrowed slightly, the hair grew out and spiked from the back with dark bangs hanging down the sides. An arrogant smirk replacing thinly drawn lips.

Sai had finished the picture. He'd drawn Sasuke, instead. Somehow, Sai realized with a heavy-hearted sigh, it looked much better this time.

--

An ANBU landed in front of Sasuke, making the Uchiha frown. He'd had a rough night, a rough morning, and now this ANBU was going to make him have a rough afternoon. Why couldn't everyone in this village just leave him alone? He attempted to walk past him, with the man taking up most of the hallway space, but to no avail. The ANBU wouldn't budge.

"What do you want?" Sasuke seethed out. He was beyond irritated. If he could use jutsu, he would have right then and there.

"We have orders to keep you under strict surveillance until he orders otherwise." The man took his 'at-ease' stance before continuing. "I've been ordered to keep you under my personal guard, up close and personal."

Taking a step back, Sasuke glared at the man intently. The only person who should have control over ANBU is the Hokage. What was Naruto punishing him for this time? "Why?"

"Orders."

The young Uchiha tried to move past him again, but the man stood his ground. Sasuke ground his teeth before heading toward his front door. This wasn't just another game of 'hide-and-watch-the-Uchiha' Naruto was playing with summons, this was an invasion of Sasuke's personal space. It wasn't fair that Naruto was using his power to mess with him. It was an abuse of power, and the Uchiha wouldn't stand for it. He would put a stop to it now.

Before the guard could stop him, Sasuke teleported himself past the front door. He knew he was banned from using jutsu of any kind, or pooling his chakra for any reason. But, at that point, Sasuke didn't care. He was halfway down the street before any member of Sai's group got near him. Breaking into a run, Sasuke fought to lose the trailing guards.

As he rounded another corner, he saw the Hokage Tower in sight. Villagers were jumping out of the way, knowing who the guards were and why they were chasing the Uchiha. He was a criminal, he was supposed to be under house arrest. But Sasuke didn't care, he was on a mission. Let the ANBU try and stop him, they wouldn't get the chance…this was personal.

* * *

Yeah, you waited long enough for it, and it ain't even that long. lol. But I wanted to post something. Thank you all for standing by me for so long. It means the world to me! (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, check out my 3 a.m. series, Interlude 1, to hear the story of my absence.)

Until next time, LOVE YA!


	14. Chapter 13

**Inevitable  
Chapter Thirteen**

Sasuke was speeding down the street, his long hair whipping behind him in the force of his propulsions. It had been five years since any type of dedicated training. In prison Sasuke had kept himself toned, but only doing the most basic of exercises. Pushups, sit ups, chin ups – not the rigorous training he would have normally enjoyed. He felt his muscles strain against the chakra racing through them. It had been five years since any type of chakra was allowed to current through, forcing his muscles to do things that shouldn't be physically possible. Sasuke had speed and endurance, enough stamina to hold himself against some of the strongest opponents of his time. He'd beaten them all, except one. It was who he was going to see now. Uzumaki Naruto would not get away with this.

The ANBU were running behind him, just out of reach, yelling things out to him. Only one of which he recognized; Sai. The abomination they had the audacity to call his replacement. It was something Sasuke still wasn't over, something he still hasn't dealt with. The new Team Seven. It was like a stab to the chest, a hot poker jamming straight through his rib cage. The jealousy had always been there, just out of reach. But now, with everything that had happened, it reared its ugly head.

Sai raced behind him, yelling out things that were designed to get the man to stop. It wasn't working. This was way too personal for some simple cookie-cutter phrase to stop him. Nothing Sai read in those books was going to work now.

He was nearly there. Maybe fifteen-hundred feet more and he'd be within speaking distance to the _Hokage_. To Naruto. Sasuke could feel his heart racing in his chest, the words he held inside preparing to burst out.

Sai sped up, reaching out to grip the fabric of Sasuke's shirt. He was nearly there; he could feel the soft fabric beneath his fingers, until someone grabbed his arm and pulled him back. Sai's head whipped around, facing an old man who had the strength to stop him in his tracks like that. The four ANBU who followed Sai's orders stopped behind him, taking a defensive stance. Sai glared into the dark eyes of his interrupter.

"Teushi."

"Sai." Teushi smiled, the expression looking evil with his eyes wild. The man was full of a power he didn't own. It was nearly revolting. "I think that you should stop what you're doing."

"What are you talking about?" Sai asked, honestly puzzled. Why would a council member be stopping him from restraining a prisoner under house arrest? "The Uchiha-"

"The Uchiha," Teushi interrupted, "is under my care as of now. Send your men home."

Sai's expression was puzzled, but his mind was calculating what the man said. It still wasn't quite computing. "I don't understand. What's in it for you?" If there's one thing Sai has learned, no human does something for nothing.

Teushi's smile grew more sinister as he contemplated how to answer Sai's curiosity. "Let's just say I have a personal stake in what happens to this young man. His fate is important to me."

His question still wasn't answered, but Sai knew who his elders were, and who he had to respect. Teushi was one of them. Begrudgingly, Sai stood down, motioning for his men to do the same. Teushi, with a self-satisfied expression on his face, followed Sasuke in the building. The second the man was out of view, Sai turned to his men.

"Surround the tower. Something isn't right here and I want to know what it is." With a flick of his hand, the ANBU who were loyal to Sai fled. Only two remained, exchanging glances between each other. Turning to them, Sai slowly took out a scroll and a quill. As his expertly trained hand floated across the paper, forming pictures of sinister looking tigers and snakes, Sai smiled to himself, the same fake smile that Naruto had hated for so long.

"It's funny." Sai said. "I thought I told you to _all_ surround the tower?"

The two ANBU glanced nervously at each other. "We have other orders." One offered.

"Teushi?" Sai asked, glancing up innocently off of his scroll. They nodded. "Ah, I see. Well…you can tell your story to Naruto then."

A roar and a hiss was the last thing the two ANBU heard before being bound and taken to an interrogating room. They woke again inside of a dark room, the walls made of cement with no windows. A single yellow light dangled from the ceiling. Sai stood next to Ibiki, who was smiling to himself.

"I do love it when good ANBU turn bad." Ibiki smiled crookedly.

"Is it fun to interrogate them?" Sai asked, releasing his jutsu as other ANBU were holding the two traitors down. They were quickly bound before Ibiki answered.

"Quite. Stick around, Sai, and I'll give you quite a show." Ibiki said, patting Sai on the back. The young man smiled, a genuine smile, before leaning back against the wall. He was prepared for the show Ibiki had promised him. He was sure the older man would deliver, he usually did.

--

Kakashi watched the two women, with their heads together, planning to outsmart a council member. With women like Sasushi and Tsunade, he was sure they'd work out a plan that would go off without a hitch, and it was quite a scene to witness.

"I'm not worried that Naruto's going to prove the Uchiha is still _bad_, I'm worried the council hears something they don't need to hear." Tsunade said, brushing a piece of hair from her face.

Sasushi leaned back, a puzzled expression on her face. "Like what?"

Kakashi barely hid a snort from his place against the wall. Tsunade threw him a look before smirking herself. "Well…something quite personal. See, he thinks he's hiding it, but not very well."

Sasushi looked between Kakashi and Tsunade. "Hiding what?"

"His…_emotional_ connection to Sasuke." Kakashi offered, making Tsunade's smirk bigger.

It took the councilwoman a moment to process what Kakashi's riddle was trying to convey, but once it clicked in, she began chuckling. "Oh! Well, isn't that just a scandal?"

Tsunade turned to glance out her window, half expecting to see Naruto hanging from the rooftop listening in on their conversation. He always did have a knack for being where he wasn't supposed to be. Half the conversations he'd eavesdropped on, especially when he didn't listen to the _whole_ conversation and then rushing into action, was proof enough of that. But, the young Hokage wasn't there, hanging from the rooftop upside-down, arms crossed, listening to what they were talking about. She chuckled to herself and turned back to Sasushi.

"I have to ask, Sasushi…what would the council do with that information?"

Sasushi took a moment to ponder Tsunade's logical question. _Just what would the council do?_ It's clearly a conflict of interest. He'd be more apt to let small things slide when it came to the Uchiha's case. They may take his decisions, concerning Sasuke at least, into careful consideration before allowing them to be passed. It could be messy. Sighing, Sasushi explained all of this to Kakashi and Tsunade. They nodded, clearly not liking her answer, not that she blamed them.

"Of course," Kakashi said, scratching the side of his face with his index finger, "the chances of Naruto giving anything away are slim. For the most part, unless they ask him directly, Naruto won't offer anything. That's the beauty of the truth serum. He won't say anymore than what will answer the investigators question."

Tsunade nodded in agreement. "True…even Naruto will keep his mouth shut with this serum."

"Okay then." Sasushi said, smiling. "We have a plan. Now to pitch it to the council…"

--

Sakura patted Naruto's arm as she left the office. The long talk they had made Naruto feel slightly better, or at least that's what he told her. What he actually felt was beyond her. Sometimes that man was so difficult to understand.

She was barely a hundred feet down the hallway when she heard the commotion. A horde of ANBU, who normally stood watch in the hallway, were chasing someone, someone with jet black hair and pale skin. The second she saw the flash of red in his eyes, Sakura knew who it was.

"Sasuke?" She breathed out just as the man attempted to run past her, as if he didn't even see her. She jutted out an arm, pulsing with chakra, in an attempt to stop him. He ran into it, the force slowing him down slightly. But he had too much momentum and her movements were a half a second too late. He ripped through her blockade, pushing his legs with more chakra. She felt a tendon in her arm pull before she heard her wrist snap.

If Sasuke heard, or felt, that he'd broken Sakura's wrist, he didn't show it. He just kept his pace running down the hallway, speeding towards Naruto's office. It was Sakura's luck that Shizune had seen the commotion and ran to help. She caught Sakura in her arms as she began to fall, quickly pressing a healing hand against her wrist.

"Sakura, are you okay?" Shizune asked, taking in the unnaturally pale skin on Sakura's face.

"Yeah…that bastard broke my wrist!" Sakura growled out, trying to help heal herself with the other hand. "Wait until I get a hold of that asshole! He'll wish he was never born!"

Sasuke threw the door to Naruto's office open with a jolt of electricity, sending shards flying through the room and the hallway. There was barely a door left when Sasuke's jutsu was through, just some shards hanging off the hinges.

Naruto jumped up, taking a fight stance almost instantly. Konohamaru, who was standing on Naruto's right-hand side, threw his arm in front of Naruto, pushing him back toward the window. He stood in front of his Hokage with full intent of showing his power to the raging Uchiha. Sasuke was barely registering there was anyone standing between him and Naruto until Konohamaru cast a jutsu of his own. Sasuke stopped in his tracks when the single obstacle between him and Naruto became twenty.

"Stop, Uchiha!" They all growled in unison.

The room, already filled to the brim with Konohamaru clones, filled more when ANBU rushed in to restrain Sasuke. The Uchiha kicked and wrestled against them until some of the clones tried to help. He managed to kick a few of them, but he was eventually restrained. Fuming, Sasuke growled and thrashed against them, but this time to no avail. Five years with a lack of rigorous training was beginning to take its toll. It may have taken four ANBU and three shadow clones, but they eventually overpowered Sasuke.

The real Konohamaru was still guarding Naruto, but the strain of controlling the jutsu was beginning to show. He didn't have the extensive chakra reserve Naruto did, and ten clones was normally his limit. As he started to sweat, two of the clones popped out of existence. Naruto placed a hand on Konohamaru's shoulder and squeezed.

"It's okay, Konohamaru. Let the clones go." Naruto said slowly, weighing how on edge the young chuunin was. This was, after all, Konohamaru's first time protecting the Hokage, and he just got the luck of having to protect him from _Sasuke_. Popping was heard throughout the room as all but three of the clones vanished. All that remained were the one's currently restraining Sasuke.

"Naruto-sama, what would you like us to do with him?" One ANBU asked as Sasuke tried pulling his arm from his grasp.

"Let him go." Naruto ordered. The ANBU hesitated slightly, but an order was an order. They slowly let Sasuke go, keeping themselves poised incase Sasuke didn't cooperate.

"You're awful trusting, _Hokage-sama_." Sasuke snarled, cracking his knuckles.

"You're not supposed to be here." Naruto said, raising an eyebrow. "Care to explain why you decided to take a morning stroll?"

"As if you don't know, asshole!"

"Obviously I don't, bastard."

Sasuke drew his eyes down and his hands curled into white-knuckled fists. "_You_ placed _ANBU_ to watch me inside my _apartment_! If you're angry at me, Naruto, then be angry at me. But that is beyond _constant surveillance_. That's an invasion of privacy!" Sasuke was already fuming, but he practically melted the room when Naruto looked honestly confused. "Don't play dumb, Naruto! I know you're good at it, but don't even try. I know you posted them there as payback!"

"Sasuke," Naruto began, still looking confused, "the only ANBU I posted at your apartment is Sai's group _outside_. I never posted anyone inside." Turning to the ANBU, Naruto gave them a quick order. "Find Sai."

"You're telling me you didn't do this, Naruto?" Sasuke asked, not seeing any trace of knowledge in Naruto's expression.

"I swear, 'suke. I didn't do this. But I will find out who did." Naruto said, walking up to Sasuke and placing a hand on his shoulder. "I promise."

A few moments passed before they heard footsteps in the hallway. Naruto thought it was Sai and turned to sit down on the edge of his desk. Sasuke was calming down slightly, and dropped his guard minutely. No one looked up to see that it wasn't Sai who entered the room, it was Sakura.

She took a few steps toward Sasuke before her chakra-charged fist connected with his jaw. The three Konohamaru clones caught him as Sasuke was sent flying toward the plate glass window. The four men skidded to a stop centimeters in front of it. Naruto jumped up off the table, knocking it over in the process. Three pops were heard as the clones vanished under the force of sliding across the floor. Sasuke's head hit the plate glass when the clone behind him vanished, shattering the glass.

Obscenities were heard flying through the room from various people, mainly Sakura who was screaming at a nearly unconscious Sasuke. Naruto tried to calm her down, but she was still flapping a fist as Sasuke and still screaming. Sasuke tried to sit up, but the rush of pain in his jaw sent him sprawling back on the ground.

Eventually Naruto gave up and stood back, deciding it was safer for him to let Sakura get it all out before trying to calm her down again. As he took in the scene in front of him, he sighed heavily and slumped his shoulders. He'd have to replace another door and another window. And, once again, he didn't break either.

By the time Sakura stopped screaming at Sasuke, Sai had entered the room. He took in the scene behind him and smiled. "Get the construction crew," he said to the ANBU guard beside him. "Apparently we have some repairs to make in the Hokage's office again."

Naruto glared at him intently and bent over to help Sasuke up. Sakura fumed and walked out of the room, muttering the entire time.

As if the day couldn't get any worse, Anko chose that time to walk into the office with Jiraiya's arm in a tight grasp. Her clothes were clinging to her, mainly because she was still wet. Her hair hung at her shoulders.

They both stopped in the room, glancing around as Naruto pulled Sasuke to his feet. When Naruto noticed the two new additions to the room, he looked up and groaned.

"Jiraiya, now's not the time for your bullshit."

Ignoring him, Jiraiya was still glancing around the room. He turned his head to get a view of the steaming Sakura's retreating form and then glanced back at Sasuke and his swelling, purple jaw.

"Well, kid. I guess this is a bad time to tell you I just got caught peeping. I need a 'get out of jail free' card."

Naruto slapped his palm to his forehead and groaned. Today was turning out to be a horrible day, and it just started.

* * *

There ya go, hope you enjoy.


	15. Chapter 14

**Inevitable  
Chapter Fourteen**

The council gathered into the large circular room, all quite confused to why they were there. It wasn't like Tsunade to willingly gather them, nor was it normal for Kakashi Hatake's name to be on the request form either. What really puzzled them was the way Sasushi, one of their eldest and most distinguished members, seemed to be _chatting_ with Kakashi and Tsuande when they arrived. This didn't go unnoticed to Teushi, either, who entered almost five minutes after the rest of the group gathered.

One member, Rahai, who wasn't as distinguished as the others but respected all the same, sat forward in his seat and placed his chin in his palm. He watched Tsunade carefully as she took her position to speak. Curiosity was spiked throughout the room when Sasushi took the initiative and started the meeting, something she rarely did.

"Lady Tsunade, please state your business with us this afternoon." It was then and there the council knew something was up. She was being way too formal.

"Our Hokage has finished his interrogation of Uchiha Sasuke. It was my understanding you would want to know of his discovery."

"You're right." Rahai agreed, nodding as he spoke. "What is his verdict?"

Before Tsunade could answer, Teushi interrupted her. "How do we know what he actually saw?"

Tsunade and Kakashi hid a smirk. Sasushi didn't bother to hide hers, she knew Teushi far too well.

"Well," Kakashi began, "we were actually going to suggest a way. A truth serum."

Rahai smirked and glanced sideward at Sasushi, who looked on innocently. "That's a wonderful idea, Kakashi."

Teushi glared at Sasushi before turning back to Tsunade and Kakashi. "There are ways around truth serums, Tsunade. You, of all people, should know that."

Tsunade cocked her head to the side and looked innocently at Teushi. "But, Teushi-san, aren't you the councilman who wrote an essay in the Konoha Journal of Medicine, with Danzou, explaining how effective and foolproof truth serum are? I was so sure that was you."

Teushi couldn't find any words, so he settled for fuming. Tsunade was right, he did write the essay based on his yearlong study of truth serum, their positives, negatives, and uses. Damn Tsunade and her amazing memory.

Rahai hid bouts of laughter while Sasushi smiled widely. "Well, that's settled."

"I agree. All those in favor?" Rahai asked, raising his hand. Sasushi immediately raised hers as well. The remaining members, except one, of course, also raised their hands. The vote was passed in a landslide. Naruto was to receive a truth serum and be asked a series of questions decided upon by the council.

All in all, the meeting went pretty damn well.

----

Jiraiya was quite enjoying the awkward scene in front of him. Naruto was fussing, yet not fussing, over Sasuke and his severely swollen, and probably broken, jaw. Sasuke was trying to bat Naruto's fussing – yet _not_ fussing – hands away, all the while trying desperately – and hiding it not so well – to keep Naruto close to him at all times.

Anko had long-since left, deciding she wouldn't get anything accomplished with the state the Hokage's office was in right now. With all the yelling Sakura had been doing, Anko had barely been able to get a word in. She left Jiraiya sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, smirking to himself, as she stalked from the office. The Hokage would hear about it later, he had enough to deal with right now.

Once everything began to settle down, Sakura went to stand in the hallway next to Shizune absolutely refusing to heal Sasuke in any way. She wouldn't let Shizune near him either. Konohamaru was hanging out over the balcony to see if he could find anyone with medical training who would be willing to heal Sasuke. So far he saw no one he either personally knew or knew they had medical training.

ANBU guards were fussing over the broken window and door, frustrating the construction crew to the point where they refused to work until the guards backed off from looking over their shoulders. Sai was standing there, leaning back against the wall, with his creepy fake smile plastered on his pale face.

Eventually Konohamaru came back into the office, exasperated to no end. "Are there no freaking medical ninja _anywhere_ in this village?"

"I'm fine." Sasuke insisted for what felt like the millionth time in an hour. With a swollen jaw, however, his words were coming out like he had a mouth full of cotton balls.

"No, you're not, 'suke. You look like a damn chipmunk!" Naruto growled, stalking toward the doorway and glowering at Sakura. "Why did you hit him that hard, Sakura?"

Sakura, who was facing the opposite direction, whirled around, fire in her eyes. "_Why_ did I hit him _that hard_, you ask? Gee, Naruto, how about because your boyfriend _broke my fucking wrist!_"

The whole room went totally silent. One could hear a pin drop; even the construction crew stopped their work. Naruto was stunned; he didn't know what to say, or what to respond to first. The mention of his and Sasuke's…_relationship_ or the fact that Sasuke broke her wrist. Instead he turned to said man and raised an eyebrow. Sasuke shrugged his shoulders slightly, which only angered Sakura more.

"Why are you shrugging, Sasuke? Does it not matter? In all your vengeance and anger and _pointless vendettas_ does the fact that you broke my wrist getting to Naruto not register?" Sakura's voice was collected and quiet, a sign that Naruto knew meant sure destruction. It was the calm before the raging storm that destroys quiet seaside towns in disaster movies. Even her eyes screamed 'wrath of woman with superhuman powers'. Naruto began fearing for his and Sasuke's lives.

"I didn't know, Sakura." Sasuke mumbled out, his eyes showing the pain of his jaw. "When did I do that?"

"When you busted through me to lightning bolt the door down." Her teeth were beginning to grit together, the first sign a storm was coming.

Sasuke's mouth formed an 'o', but it didn't cause the storm to dissipate any. If anything, it made it jump up a category.

"Sasuke, will you please just apologize to her?" Naruto asked, feeling a tension headache begin to form. He loved both of his friends, albeit for different reasons, and he didn't feel like having them feuding.

Sasuke mumbled an apology and Sakura's eyes softened minutely. She was still shaking with rage, however, and was still glaring. Just not as intently. Naruto began feeling at ease, if only a little, and turned around to Sai, who was still smiling his creepy smile.

"Yes, Naruto-sama?" Sai asked, cocking his head to the side in an effort to look innocent. It didn't work.

"Sai," Naruto paused to sigh and rub his temples before continuing. "Did you post an ANBU guard _inside_ Sasuke's apartment?"

"No."

"Do you know who did?" Naruto knew, by now, how to handle Sai. You had to ask just the right questions, not leaving any inferences.

"Yes. Councilman Teushi."

There was a murmur throughout the office, a buzz that only happens after scandalous information is announced. Naruto began rubbing his temples more fiercely as Sakura placed a hand over her mouth. Jiraiya was actually a little shocked. Tsunade had told him about the council's worries and plans, but he never expected the elder to take such a drastic measure.

Sasuke didn't really know what to think, except that the man who really did invade his privacy needed to pay. Naruto, being new at the whole 'Hokage'-thing, was suddenly afraid of upsetting the wrong people.

There were still a lot of people in that particular office, a lot of which Naruto wasn't at the liberty to speak freely in front of. Pointing at the few that were allowed to hear classified things, he motioned for them to follow him. This included Sasuke, whose arm Naruto grasped and practically drug out of the office. He led them, silently, down the windy hallway and into a large room. It was the Hokage's personal conference room, which housed a large oak table large enough for twenty people to sit at comfortably. Today, however, only six would occupy it.

----

"You want to ask him if he had to choose a successor, who would it be and why?" Sasushi gaped at Teushi. "What kind of preposterous question is that?"

"Really, Teushi, the kid's not a genin anymore." Rahai agreed, sighing into his folded hands.

"Why don't we keep the questions centered around Sasuke and his alignment?" Tsunade offered, feeling a headache coming on. She knew that Teushi would not make this task easy, but she never imagined he'd drag it out like this. This was just absurd.

Kakashi had long since brought out his manuscript of Icha Icha Voyage, which Jiraiya gave him to read back when Naruto was still inside the Dreamwalker jutsu, and was barely keeping up with the current conversation. What questions they asked Naruto wouldn't really matter, especially if Naruto didn't agree to this at all. Which, although slightly disconcerting, was still a possibility.

"Well what question would satisfy you, Tsunade-_hime_?" Teushi snapped, visibly shaking with frustration. This whole situation was slowly leaving his control, and it was not something he was prepared to deal with. He was always a man who kept control in his favor. No way was this happening to him, not again.

"It's a _truth serum_, Teushi. Just ask him what you want to know. _Does Sasuke have any intention of causing pain to anyone in Konoha? Does Sasuke still have the evil intentions he had while searching for Itachi? Does Sasuke still want to get revenge for his family by destroying the higher-ups in Konoha?_"

Sasushi nodded in agreement, as did most of the council. "Exactly, Lady Tsunade. Thank you."

Rahai exhaled with something akin to relief. "Write them down, Sasushi. Let's wrap up this pointless meeting already."

A murmur of agreement rose in the room as the other council members began to get up. Rahai imagined them all going home to find a dose of aspirin. He figured they all had the same headache he had now.

----

"Wait, I'm confused." Naruto said, scratching his temple offhandedly. The words didn't come as much of a surprise to anyone standing in the room. Honestly, it wasn't the first time the blonde had been confused in his life, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

"What are you confused about now, idiot?" Jiraiya asked, tapping his long fingers on the wooden table. "The part about someone not liking the 'all-mighty Uzumaki Naruto' or about someone not liking the 'all-mighty Uchiha Sasuke'?"

"Blow me, Jiraiya." Naruto retorted, glaring at his master. "I mean, what did I or Sasuke do to this Teushi to piss him off so much?"

"Good question." Sakura nodded in agreement. "You haven't been in office long enough to really do much damage and Sasuke has only been released for barely a month or something. Right? So, unless it's something you two did prior to all of this, there isn't a real reason for this whole vendetta."

Sai, who was utterly quiet throughout this whole situation suddenly decided to talk. "What about Kakashi?"

There was a pause before Naruto decided to ask the obvious question. "What about Kakashi?"

"You gave him a mission, Naruto-nii-chan." Konohamaru said, bouncing in his seat. "Remember? You asked him to spy on the council!"

Naruto shushed him fiercely. "You know, there are ways of bugging places like this. Keep your damn voice down, Kono!"

The chuunin-turned-bodyguard gave a sheepish smile. "Sorry, Naruto."

"Although," Naruto said, scratching his chin thoughtfully, "he hasn't reported back…at all. What kind of spy is he, anyway? I thought he used to be a damn ANBU?"

"He was, idiot." Sasuke's deep indifferent voice rang out, causing everyone to look his way. For a moment, a few of them – minus Naruto of course – forgot the Uchiha was brought along. "And if he didn't report back, then something must be wrong."

"He's an ex-ANBU. I'm sure he can handle himself." Sakura said, her voice still showing the anger she felt toward him.

"I didn't say he couldn't. I'm just saying that something obviously happened." Sasuke still sounded a bit like he had a big wad of cotton shoved in his mouth, with his jaw still being swollen and all. Sakura was purposely not healing it. Payback was a bitch, and Sakura could be a bigger one.

While Sakura and Sasuke continued bickering, Naruto sat back in his seat and attempted to absorb all he'd learned within the last half hour. Teushi had some sort of agenda when it came to either him or Sasuke. He'd purposely used his authority – or abused it, as Naruto saw it – to post an ANBU guard inside Sasuke's apartment, causing him to break the rules and leave his house arrest. The councilman either wanted to prove Naruto was incompetent or Sasuke was still an enemy to Konoha. Either way, Naruto decided he wasn't standing for it.

He stood up abruptly, as if agreeing with his inner-conversation. The room stopped and looked at him, even his two ex-teammates stopped their bickering and raised their eyebrows at him.

"I'm getting to the bottom of this whole mess if it kills me." He said, nodding in approval at his own words. "Sakura, please find Kakashi and drag his white-haired ass back here this instant. Find Grandma Tsunade while you're at it. That old hag needs to advise me like her job title says to. Sai, go with her in case they are somewhere Sakura isn't allowed to go. Konohamaru, please see how the construction crew is doing with fixing my door. Tell them to make my door out of concrete or something this time. Damn, I'm tired to replacing it when it's not even _my fault_ it's broken!" The people mentioned nodded and left the room. All that was left was Jiraiya, Naruto, and Sasuke.

"What do you want from me, all-mighty Hokage?" Jiraiya joked, his only hand brought to his forehead in a mock-salute.

"Quit peeping you old perve!" Naruto growled, shaking a fist at him. "I'm gonna get reamed a new one when Anko decides to come back. Of all the women in Konoha, you had to choose _her_ to peep on?"

"Well…she does have a nice-" Naruto cut the old man off before he could finish by throwing both of his hands over Jiraiya's mouth.

"Don't finish that sentence, just leave."

He heard Jiraiya mumble something sounding like 'fine, fine' and let go of the man's mouth. Before Jiraiya was fully out the door, however, he added one more piece of thought.

"Just because the only thing you're interested in anymore is an Uchiha, it doesn't mean I can't appreciate the beauty that only Konoha can provide me."

As the door clicked shut, Naruto's face had taken on a deep red tint. "Old perve." He mumbled, directing his gaze to the floor. Then it hit him. The only two people left in the big conference room were himself and Sasuke. He froze, not sure of what move to make or what to say. With the way he left things last time they were alone, where could they actually go from here?

Sasuke was sitting in his chair as the same realization fell upon him, but he didn't have the same fleeting thought-train as his love interest did. He was wondering what to say to the blonde that wouldn't send him flying out the door again. They both exchanged sheepish looks – well, as sheepish as Sasuke would allow himself – and looked away again. Deciding it was better to put their relationship aside for the moment, Sasuke spoke up if only to break the tension mounting in the room.

"What are you planning on doing with this Teushi person?"

Naruto shrugged and sat down on the edge of the desk. "I'll let Ibiki handle that. He's better at it anyway." Taking in the deep purple and blue hue that Sasuke's jaw had taken, Naruto began feeling sorry for the man. Sakura did have one hell of a right hook, and Sasuke sure took the full force of it. "When Tsunade gets here, I'll have her heal that." He motioned toward the swollen jaw when Sasuke's eyes met his, slightly confused.

"Oh, yeah…'k." Sasuke mumbled out, gently probing his jaw line and measuring the damage done to it.

"I never could heal worth a damn, or I'd try myself." Naruto said, giving off a nervous laugh. When all else failed, small talk sounded like a good enough idea.

"Never could do anything right, could you?" Sasuke said, forming half a smirk. The pain shot through his jaw at the movement of his muscles and he jerked back with pain. Naruto smirked.

"Serves you right, asshole. That's what you get when you make fun of your Hokage."

Sasuke snorted and held his palm over his jaw. When the pain subsided slightly, he looked up at the towering blonde and took a deep breath. "Are you going to shove me back in that apartment while you figure this mess out?"

"No." Naruto sat on the corner of the table and began fidgeting with his necklace. "This involves you as much as me, so it will only be fair to include you in the investigation. Don'tcha think, 'suke?"

"You…you can't." Sasuke said, sitting up straight. Naruto had to be joking. There was no way, even as the Hokage, Naruto had the power to overthrow a decision by the council.

As the flicker of determination coursed through Naruto's eyes, Sasuke smirked inwardly. _Then again,_ Sasuke thought, _Naruto always did have a way of getting what he wants no matter what._

----


	16. Chapter 15

**INEVITABLE  
CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

Sakura checked every place she knew either Kakashi or Tsunade frequented. They just didn't seem to be anywhere. Kakashi wasn't a very spontaneous individual, so there were only so many places he could have been. And every place she checked that were hotspots for gambling or for alcohol didn't have Tsunade. Pretty soon, Sakura was out of options and not a clue where else to check. She glanced at Sai, who was following diligently behind as Naruto instructed.

"Any idea where to search now, Sai?" She asked, her voice sounding as frustrated as she felt.

Sai tapped his chin thoughtfully as a myriad of places raced through his strategic mind. Finally he settled on the one place no one would think to look. "How about the council chamber?"

Sakura stopped mid-step. "Why would Kakashi-sensei be caught dead in that place? He barely goes there when he's summoned, Sai."

"We've checked everywhere normal, Sakura. Let's check somewhere _abnormal_."

Sakura shrugged, deciding she couldn't argue with that logic, and changed directions. It wasn't until they were in front of the entrance she realized that, without being summoned, she couldn't enter the council chamber. Before she had time to mention this to Sai, Tsunade and Kakashi emerged. They looked way too happy to be coming out of that building, Sakura noticed.

----

"Aren't we supposed to have a mission today, Hinata?" Kiba asked, strolling beside her as they walked toward the Hokage's office. Hinata nodded, tentatively petting Akamaru's head as they walked. When they turned the corner they saw the destruction that was the Hokage's office. Hinata was shocked to see the debris that used to be the door and most of his frame, but Kiba simply laughed.

"Kiba-kun, what do you think happened?" Hinata gasped out, putting her hands over her mouth.

"I'll bet you some serious money it's all Naruto's fault." Kiba said, still laughing.

"You'd be wrong." Konohamaru said, appearing out of the office. "This actually was, in no way, Naruto-nii-chan's fault at all."

"Who did it, then?" Kiba asked, cocking his head to the side.

Konohamaru snickered. "Sasuke."

Kibe left out a throaty laugh. "You have _got_ to be kidding! He's under house arrest? What, did Naruto take him out for an afternoon stroll?"

"It's…complicated, Kiba." Konohamaru explained, scratching the back of his head. "But that mission Naruto-nii-chan promised will have to wait until tomorrow…" He glanced behind him at the work being done to the office and scratched the back of his head again. "…maybe the next day."

Hinata put her hand on Kiba's arm, slowly leading him back to the stairs. "Okay, Konohamaru-kun. We will see you l-later."

"Yeah, kid, tell our _Hokage_ we'll be back, okay?" Kiba smirked and turned on his heels, Akamaru in tow.

"Sure thing, Kiba!" Konohamaru turned around and sighed. "C'mon, guys. Pick up the pace. The Hokage needs an office to work out of!"

----

Naruto was pacing back and forth in the conference room, hands linked behind his back, in deep thought. He'd been in that same rhythm for the past half hour and Sasuke began wondering if a groove would be worn in the floor soon.

A myriad of thoughts ran through his head and Naruto's mind was in overdrive. _Why would Teushi care what Sasuke did? What did Teushi gain from Sasuke breaking out of custody?_

Nothing seemed to be answered when Naruto finally stopped pacing. He sat on the edge of the conference table and sighed. Being Hokage wasn't supposed to be this hard. He couldn't imagine his father dealing with any of this. He was sure, with the perception of the Fourth Naruto had formed in his mind, that Minato would have kicked ass and took names and not cared if someone had a vendetta against an Uchiha…

Naruto jumped up at his thought and began bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"I got it, Sasuke!"

Sasuke, who was probing at his swollen jaw, jumped in surprise when Naruto yelled. Nearly half an hour with no words spoken made the conference room a very silent place. Naruto's outburst filled the room, nearly knocking Sasuke out of his chair.

"Got what, idiot?"

"The answer! I think…anyway, what if Teushi doesn't necessarily have an issue with either me or you? I mean, he's old. We couldn't have done anything to him, right? Sakura said so herself. What if it was the people who came before us?"

Sasuke cocked his head to the side and bit his lip. Naruto did have a point. Without having actually _met_ Teushi, it was hard to believe he'd done anything to him. He'd never even heard the name before now. It would help if they knew what this Teushi's past was.

"Naruto, we need access to his files. He's a ninja, right? He has to have a dossier on record."

The Hokage smiled, "Totally."

----

Tsunade was starving, and she wanted some alcohol, but now she was forced in playing advisor for Naruto. Sakura wasn't giving her much of an option as she led them back toward the Tower. Even Kakashi couldn't escape her steel-like grip on his arm.

Sakura had briefly filled them in on the situation, which couldn't have come at a worse time to interfere in Tsunade and Kakashi's plans. It did seem to Tsunade that Naruto needed her, but it still didn't help that she was starving. And thristy. And Konohamaru better be there to fetch her _something_.

The group passed by Kiba and Hinata on the stairs before ascending to the conference room, where they saw Naruto and Sasuke scheming together. Sakura would have been proud of their teamwork, had they been twelve. Now she was just ready for some peace so she could rest.

Naruto gave a start when they entered the room, but quickly led Tsunade over to Sasuke, urging the woman to heal his _friend_. Sakura was directing her gaze, purposely, in the opposite direction, still being very stubborn. When Sasuke's jaw had returned to the size and color that was considered normal, they all took a seat around the large table.

"Well," Kakashi asked, "what'd we miss?"

Naruto drew his eyebrows together. "What'd you miss, sensei? Gee, let me think of where to _start_. Where were you two?"

"Ensuring Sasuke's future in Konoha, actually." Kakashi's eye crinkled up in a smile.

Naruto and Sakura were just staring, Sasuke snorted.

"What?" Naruto asked, completely bewildered.

"Sakura and…well, Sai was there but he didn't say much," Tsunade flipped her hand at the silent ANBU standing in the corner. Sai just nodded and smiled his fake smile. "But Sakura filled us in on everything that was going on. From Sasuke _escaping_ to breaking the door down…pretty much all of it. Where is Konohamaru?"

Naruto arched an eyebrow at her sudden topic jump, but pointed in the direction of his destroyed office all the same. "Uh-huh…and what does that have to do with what you two were doing?"

"Sai, fetch Konohamaru, will you?" Tsunade asked, glancing briefly in the ANBU's direction. He nodded and left the room.

"We have a proposition for you, Naruto-_sama_." Kakashi said with his visible eye crinkling into a smile. "And it would be in _both_ of your best interests to accept it." He motioned to both Naruto and Sasuke, making each exchange a quick glance at each other.

"What kind of proposition?" Naruto asked, cocking his head to the side.

The original members of the former Team Seven had their interest peaked as they looked toward their former superiors. Sasuke even leaned forward on the table to take in their explanation. It was enough to send Kakashi, once again, in a pleasant moment of nostalgia. Tsunade smiled in her way of showing that, no matter how old she gets, she's still bad ass and clever as hell.

"Does this have something to do with that dreadful jutsu you let him use on me?" Sasuke asked suddenly, his face forming a deep frown.

"Actually, Sasuke, yes it does." Kakashi chuckled. "It has a lot to do with the Dreamwalker jutsu."

Sakura nodded. "As in how will the council actually believe anything Naruto saw? I mean, they're going just by his word, right?"

"And who says Kakashi's students aren't clever?" Tsunade quirked, getting a glare from everyone including Kakashi.

"Lady Tsunade, did you need something?" Konohamaru asked, poking his head in the doorway.

"Yes, boy. Fetch me some sake and something to eat. I'm starving."

Konohamaru wanted to retort, but instead gritted his teeth and nodded. He'd learned from having her smack him around that sometimes it's better to just agree instead of argue with her.

Naruto shot Tsunade a glare. "He's not a gopher, Granny. He's my personal bodyguard."

"Yeah!" She snorted. "As if _you_ need a scrawny kid like that protecting you! You need an entire fleet of ANBU for as much trouble as you are!"

"Blow me, Granny!" Naruto seethed, feeling majorly defensive when it came to protecting Konohamaru and his own personal clumsiness. After all, it wasn't his fault he was prone to danger, was it?

Before the former Hokage could retort, Sakura cut them off. "Can we get back to the subject at hand? What proposition did you have for our _fearless leader_ anyway?"

Naruto stuck his tongue out at her as Kakashi began explaining.

"It's actually quite simple. We just need to prove to the council that, whatever you will say, you are not lying. So, for starters, we need to hear what you saw in there."

Naruto gulped and glanced in Sasuke's direction, who was shooting daggers at the blonde. "Um…well…"

"Here." Konohamaru announced, nearly slamming the tray of sake and sandwiches on the table in front of them.

"Be nicer, brat!" Tsunade sneered.

"Quit being so bitchy, old hag!" All respect flew out the window when someone called him a brat. He was sick of being treated like a little kid. "Just be lucky it's edible!"

"Thank you, Konohamaru." Naruto said sternly, cutting off any fight which may have taken place.

"Yeah, no problem nii-chan." Konohamaru sent another glare Tsunade's way before returning to the destroyed office.

"Honestly, you two could _try_ and get along." Naruto reprimanded Tsunade.

"Well he could stop being such a damn brat."

"Moving on." Sakura urged, nudging Kakashi's arm. "Are we prepping him on what to say or something?" She asked, moving the topic back on Naruto.

"No." Kakashi shook his head. "We can't do that. For this, we will need Naruto to be completely honest with both us and the council. Naruto, did you see anything in Sasuke's mind that would lead you to believe he will attempt to destroy Konoha, or anyone in it, ever again?"

"No."

"Should he be trusted?"

"Yes."

"Is there any reason, besides what you saw in his mind, that leads you to believe this wholeheartedly?" Tsunade asked, knowing what kinds of questions Teushi will subject him to.

Naruto cocked his head to the side before answering. "Um…what?"

"It basically means, are you saying he can be trusted only because you guys have a history as teammates?" Sakura clarified.

"Oh…no. I mean, yes…wait. I'm confused."

"Just answer the question, Naruto." Tsunade said, rubbing her temples.

"I trust Sasuke. And does it really matter if it's based off what I saw in his head, our history, or a combination of the two? He's different now and that's all the matters."

"But selling it to the council will be different." Sasuke stated, sitting back in his chair.

"True." Sakura agreed. "They won't believe you easily."

"Which is where the proposition comes in." Tsunade smiled.

The three looked at her questioningly as Tsunade pulled a small vial from between her cleavage. The liquid inside was a light orange color and shimmered with something almost golden floating inside.

"This, dear children, is a truth serum. And we are going to use it to keep Sasuke from being put back in prison."

----

Hanabi was pacing back and forth in front of a large bush, contemplating what she was about to do. It wasn't like her to do anything this irrational. Nor was it like her to completely disobey her father by deliberately dating a boy she knew her father did not approve of. But she grew increasing tired of being the 'golden child' of the Hyuuga clan. They taught her everything she knew about being a kunoichi, but nothing about being a teenage girl, or about being a woman. The only she had to go on was what she could get out of a blushing and stuttering Hinata, which wasn't always much or intelligible.

She felt Moegi before she actually saw her, the girl's chakra signature being pretty vibrant for as laid back as she kept herself. Once the young chuunin rounded the corner, she got a worked up Hanabi attached to her.

"Ha-Hanabi?" Moegi asked, startled. She received a message to meet the girl, but didn't think it would be for something like this. "What's the matter?"

"Oh, Moegi, I don't know what to do!"

Moegi peeled the younger girl off of her and held her shoulders tight in her hands, keeping the girl steady. "About what? What happened?"

"My father was furious about me sneaking off with Konohamaru again. He's forbid me from ever seeing him again. And then, as if to make matters worse, I skipped my last two periods."

Instantly Moegi's face dropped. "You…you think you're…_pregnant_?" The last word was hissed out as if it was a forbidden curse. The young Hyuuga nodded, tears falling from her eyes. "Oh, Hanabi…don't cry. We'll figure it out. Maybe it's just your training too hard or something. Why don't we go get a test to find out for sure, okay?"

Hanabi nodded again and Moegi slowly led her toward the nearest pharmacy.

* * *

Yeah, sorry for the delay. Life was in the way. K, hope you enjoy! Tell your friends and tip your waitress. XD


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